I Ching / Hexagram 40

Hexagram 40: Hie, Deliverance

Describes tension breaking, like a storm that clears the air, and advises settling what’s pending without rancor.

Thunder over Water. Thunder and rain: the storm breaks and the air clears.

The situation

After a period of tension, things are starting to loosen. Knots come undone, danger recedes and relief returns. This is the moment to bring the situation back to normal, settle what’s pending without resentment and return to ordinary life as soon as possible.

The advice

You’d do well to act quickly to close what remains open and then regain your calm. Avoid dragging out the conflict, taking revenge for old offenses or staying tangled in the past.

The judgement

The traditional judgment says that the southwest furthers; that if nothing remains to be done, returning brings good fortune; and that if something is still pending, it is best to settle it quickly. The southwest, associated with Earth, symbolizes level ground and ordinary life: after danger, the thing to do is return to normal as soon as possible. The classical commentaries see here the moment when the storm breaks and nature breathes again, and add that the wise person uses that relief to pardon mistakes and deal leniently with faults. Today you can recognize this in the end of a crisis, the signing of an agreement after a conflict or recovery from an illness. The judgment asks for two things: speed in closing what remains open, and moderation afterward, without drawing out the victory or seeking revenge. Deliverance is complete when you go back to living simply.

Thunder over Water: the two trigrams

Above is Thunder, the movement that shakes; below, Water, danger and built-up tension. The image is that of a storm breaking: thunder rolls, rain falls and the air clears. While Water stays below, the danger is held inside; when Thunder moves above it, the situation climbs out of the abyss. It is the inverted figure of hexagram 39, where Water sat on top and blocked the way: here movement has already left danger behind. The combination produces the meaning of the sign. Thunder’s energy breaks the stagnation and the rain loosens the knots, just as a spring storm awakens the seeds. The result is relief, and tradition asks you to make use of it quickly, before the tension returns.

The six lines

  1. First line. The obstacle has been resolved and little remains to be done. Rest and recover your strength quietly.
  2. Second line. You uncover and set aside those who were scheming cleverly, like someone hunting three foxes. With integrity and measure you get a good outcome.
  3. Third line. You show off a position too big for you and attract opportunists. Persisting in that display ends badly.
  4. Fourth line. Free yourself from companions who cling to you without contributing anything. Once you let them go, true allies you can trust arrive.
  5. Fifth line. You only truly free yourself when you cut, inwardly, whatever drags you down. Those who used to take advantage of you sense your firmness and back off.
  6. Sixth line. A well-placed obstacle blocks deliverance. With preparation and at the right moment, you remove it with a single, well-aimed blow.

The archetype: The Freed One

The Freed One has just come out of something: a prison, a war, an illness, a relationship that kept them bound. Their desire is to breathe and get back to a normal life, but they carry the marks of confinement and unsettled scores with those who hurt them. Their conflict is choosing what to do with freedom: collect on those debts, or let them go and start over. They must also cut ties with whatever still drags them down, such as old company, habits or nostalgia for their own suffering. Their risk is stopping halfway, free on the outside and imprisoned within, or turning liberation into a revenge that chains them up again. When they forgive and act quickly on what is pending, they truly get their life back.

In literature

  • The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy, 1886). Ivan Ilyich, a respectable judge, lies dying for weeks, full of resentment toward his wife, the doctors and the lies that surround him; only the servant Gerasim, who holds up his legs, brings him relief. In his final hours he feels himself being pushed into a black sack, sees a light, feels his son kiss his hand and is filled with compassion. He tries to say “forgive,” it comes out as “forgo,” and the fear disappears.
  • Life Is a Dream (Pedro Calderón de la Barca, 1636). Segismundo spends his youth chained in a tower on the orders of his father, King Basilio. Freed by rebel soldiers, he wins the battle and has his father at his feet. Instead of taking revenge, he forgives him, does right by Rosaura and Estrella, and sends the soldier who freed him to the tower as a traitor. He settles what is pending quickly and without rancor, and turns his freedom into order for everyone.
  • A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens, 1859). Doctor Manette leaves the Bastille after eighteen years of imprisonment and turns up in a Paris garret above the Defarges’ wine shop, making shoes and unable to remember his name. His daughter Lucie takes him to London and brings him back to life. The marks remain: when he discovers that his son-in-law Darnay is an Evrémonde, he goes back to his shoemaker’s bench for nine days. He embodies the Freed One, who must choose between collecting on old debts or letting them go.

In history

The Release of Nelson Mandela (1990). On February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster Prison after twenty-seven years behind bars. Far from encouraging revenge, he negotiated the dismantling of apartheid with F. W. de Klerk’s government and, once president, championed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The episode embodies the hexagram: a tension decades in the making that was resolved quickly and without vengeance, with the aim of returning to a shared life.

For writers

Fits the resolution or the aftermath of the climax: the relief after the storm. Also good for a character who must finally break with a relationship or habit that holds them back.

Deliverance usually occupies the final stretch of a story, once the climax has already erupted. In the setup, the tension should have been building for a long time: a confinement, a threat, a debt, a secret. The first key moment is the release, the storm that resolves everything at once, such as an escape, a confession or a victory. The turning point comes right after: the now-free character must decide what to do about those who hurt them and the ties that still bind them, and that decision reveals who they are. The resolution shows the return to ordinary life, with the air clean and some score settled through forgiveness. The mistake to avoid is dragging out the ending with acts of revenge and epilogues: the hexagram asks you to close quickly and let the reader breathe.

Frequently asked questions

What does hexagram 40 of the I Ching mean?

Hexagram 40, Hie (Deliverance), describes the relief that comes after a period of tension, like a storm that breaks and clears the air. Knots come undone and danger recedes. It advises settling what remains pending quickly, forgiving old offenses and returning to ordinary life as soon as possible.

What does hexagram 40 mean in love?

In love it signals the end of a tense stage: a reconciliation after a crisis, or the decision to break off a relationship that had become a burden. In both cases it invites you to close the chapter without resentment and without reopening old wounds. If you stay in the relationship, try to get back to normal soon; if you are freeing yourself from it, do so with clarity and firmness.

Is hexagram 40 favorable?

Yes, it is read as a favorable hexagram, because it indicates that the worst is over and the way is opening up. Its condition is speed: settle what’s pending without delay and then regain your calm. The lines warn against showing off and against companions who take advantage, and encourage you to cut yourself off inwardly from whatever still holds you back.

Consult the I Ching for free

Published on October 4, 2026 · updated on October 18, 2026.