I Ching trigram · 7 of 8
Gèn ☶ Mountain 艮 · Keeping Still: the mountain, stillness and knowing when to stop
Gèn is one yang line resting on top of two yin lines, like a mountain standing solid above the earth. It stands for stillness, meditation, boundaries and the wisdom of knowing when to stop.
- Yang trigram
- Element: Earth
- Season: Late winter into early spring
- Doubled: hexagram 52
Element
Earth 土
Direction
North-east
Family
Youngest son 少男
Quality
Stillness 止
Animal
Dog 狗
Body
Hand 手
The lines of Gèn
Gèn has two broken yin lines below and a solid yang line at the top. The yang energy has risen as far as it can go and comes to rest, so movement stops.
In the three sons and three daughters, the single line that differs from the others is the ruling line. In Gèn it is the top line, so Gèn is the youngest son.
What Gèn means
Gèn is the mountain. Its quality in the Discussion of the Trigrams (说卦传) is 止 (zhǐ), to stop or keep still. A mountain does not move: it marks boundaries, shelters the valleys and gives a place to look out from. Gèn teaches that stopping at the right moment is as important as moving at the right moment.
As the youngest son, Gèn is linked with patience, reflection, study and inner calm, and with doors, gates and thresholds. hexagram 52, Keeping Still describes the stillness of meditation: keeping the back still so that you are no longer driven by every impulse, and moving only when the time is right.
In the Later Heaven arrangement Gèn stands in the north-east, where winter ends and spring begins. The commentary says “he completes in Gèn” (成言乎艮). It is the point where one cycle ends and the next begins.
兼山，艮；君子以思不出其位。
Mountains standing close together: the image of keeping still. The noble person does not let their thoughts go beyond their situation.
The Image of hexagram 52, Keeping Still
Gèn in your birth hexagram
With Gèn in your birth hexagram, you may be calm, steady and self-contained. Gèn people think before they act, value their privacy and often have a natural gift for study, reflection or spiritual practice.
Strengths
- Calm and steady under pressure
- Reliable and trustworthy
- Reflective and studious
- Sets healthy boundaries
- Patient, with long-term vision
Watch out for
- Can be stubborn or immovable
- Slow to change or adapt
- May withdraw or isolate
- Holds on to grudges or old habits
- Misses chances by waiting too long
Find your own trigrams. The free Birth Destiny calculator works out your birth hexagram and its two trigrams from your date and time of birth.
Gèn as the lower and upper trigram
Every hexagram has a lower trigram for the inner situation and an upper trigram for the outer world. Gèn reads a little differently in each place.
Below: the inner world
As the lower trigram, Gèn shows inner stillness, restraint or firm resolve. In hexagram 15, Modesty the mountain hides beneath the earth, the image of true modesty, while in hexagram 31, Influence stillness below and joy above give the mutual attraction of courtship.
Above: the outer world
As the upper trigram, Gèn shows a limit, obstacle or need to stop in the outer world. In hexagram 26, Great Taming the mountain holds back the power of heaven and stores it up, and in hexagram 4, Youthful Folly a spring rising at the foot of the mountain is the image of youthful inexperience.
The 15 hexagrams that contain Gèn
Gèn appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams: eight with Mountain below and eight with Mountain above, with hexagram 52, Keeping Still counted in both lists. Click any hexagram to read its meaning.
| No. | Lines | Hexagram | Upper over lower | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Modesty | Earth over Mountain | Modesty, balance, humility | |
| 31 | Influence | Lake over Mountain | Attraction, influence, sensitivity | |
| 33 | Retreat | Heaven over Mountain | Retreat, timing, self-preservation | |
| 39 | Obstruction | Water over Mountain | Obstacles, reflection, finding help | |
| 52 | Keeping Still | Mountain over Mountain | Stillness, focus, boundaries | |
| 53 | Gradual Development | Wind over Mountain | Gradual progress, patience, proper process | |
| 56 | The Wanderer | Fire over Mountain | Travel, transience, adaptability | |
| 62 | Small Exceeding | Thunder over Mountain | Small matters, caution, detail |
| No. | Lines | Hexagram | Upper over lower | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Youthful Folly | Mountain over Water | Learning, guidance, discovery | |
| 18 | Repairing Decay | Mountain over Wind | Repair, reform, inheritance | |
| 22 | Grace | Mountain over Fire | Beauty, presentation, culture | |
| 23 | Splitting Apart | Mountain over Earth | Erosion, letting go, protecting the base | |
| 26 | Great Taming | Mountain over Heaven | Accumulated strength, knowledge, reserves | |
| 27 | Nourishment | Mountain over Thunder | Nourishment, care, self-cultivation | |
| 41 | Decrease | Mountain over Lake | Decrease, sacrifice, simplicity | |
| 52 | Keeping Still | Mountain over Mountain | Stillness, focus, boundaries |
Symbols and correspondences
The Discussion of the Trigrams links Gèn with the mountain, a byway, small stones, doors and openings, fruit and seeds, gatekeepers and watchmen, fingers, the dog and the rat, black-billed birds, and trees that are firm and gnarled.
| Lines (bottom to top) | yin, yin, yang |
|---|---|
| Name | 艮 Gèn, Keeping Still |
| Image in nature | Mountain |
| Quality | Stillness (止) |
| Yin or yang | Yang trigram |
| Five element | Earth (土) |
| Family member | Youngest son (少男) |
| Later Heaven direction | North-east |
| Early Heaven direction | North-west |
| Season | Late winter into early spring |
| Animal | Dog (狗) |
| Part of the body | Hand (手) |
| Early Heaven number | 7 |
| Later Heaven (Luo Shu) number | 8 |
| Opposite trigram | ☱ Duì, Lake |
| Doubled hexagram | hexagram 52, Keeping Still |
| Feng shui life area | Knowledge, study and self-cultivation |
| Kua number | 8 (West group) |
Gèn in feng shui
On the Later Heaven bagua Gèn governs the north-east, the area of knowledge, study and self-cultivation, traditionally linked to the youngest son. Its element is Earth, supported by earthy yellows and browns, stones and crystals, books and square, solid shapes. In the Eight Mansions system, people with a kua number of 8 belong to Gèn, as do women whose kua number works out as 5, and they are in the West group.
Tips for the north-east
- Use the north-east for a study, bookshelf or meditation corner
- Add stones, crystals or ceramics to strengthen Earth
- A warm lamp supports it too, because Fire makes Earth
Gèn questions, answered
What does Gèn mean in the I Ching?
Gèn (艮) means mountain or keeping still. It has one yang line above two yin lines and stands for stillness, boundaries, reflection and the youngest son. Doubled, it forms hexagram 52, Keeping Still.
What is the lesson of Gèn?
Gèn's lesson is timing. Just as there is a time to act, there is a time to stop, rest and reflect. Stillness is not doing nothing; it is choosing not to be pushed around by every impulse.
Which hexagrams contain Gèn?
Gèn appears in 15 of the 64 hexagrams. It is both trigrams in hexagram 52, Keeping Still. It is the lower trigram in hexagrams 15, 31, 33, 39, 53, 56 and 62, and the upper trigram in hexagrams 4, 18, 22, 23, 26, 27 and 41.
What element and direction is Gèn?
Gèn belongs to the Earth element. In the Later Heaven (King Wen) arrangement used in feng shui it sits in the north-east, and in the Early Heaven (Fu Xi) arrangement it sits in the north-west.
The eight trigrams
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