I Ching · 巽 xùn
The Penetrating
Wind / Wood — one yin at the base under two yang, what penetrates through gentleness
Family
Eldest Daughter
Animal
The Rooster
Direction
Southeast
Season
Late spring
Element
Wood
Body
Thigh
Virtue
The Penetrating
Polarity
Emerging yin (1 yin at bottom)
Symbolism
The character 巽 (xùn) evokes gentle penetration, humility, suppleness that insinuates. The trigram has a yin line at the base, two yang above: suppleness supports strength, as the bamboo's supple stalk carries its crown. It is also the wind, which passes everywhere unseen, which goes around the obstacle, which penetrates through every crack.
The rooster is its animal — the animal of dawn that announces without clash, through its repeated voice.
General meaning
Xùn designates penetration without rupture. It is gentle influence, acting over time, going around rather than striking. The wind that bends the tree does not break it — and yet it shapes it. It is also wood that grows, that makes no noise but ends up cracking stone.
Received in a reading, Xùn invites subtle action. Not the bold stroke, but patient influence. Not confrontation, but supple perseverance.
As upper trigram
When the Wind is above, it envelops: the context is gentle but pervasive, an influence acting from everywhere without being graspable.
As lower trigram
When the Wind is below, the subject of the reading is in a posture of gentle influence. Their strength is to penetrate without shocking, to act without imposing.
Hexagrams where it appears
This trigram enters 16 of the 64 hexagrams — 8 times as lower, 8 times as upper. The 8 pure hexagrams (where it is doubled) are flagged.
Frequently asked
- Why are Wind and Wood the same trigram?
- Both share the same quality: penetration. Wood penetrates the earth through its roots, wind penetrates the air through its mobility. Chinese thought sees in them two manifestations of the same principle: that which acts through suppleness rather than hardness.
- Is Xùn a trigram of manipulation?
- It can become so in its negative form — underhand persuasion, intrigue, lack of frankness. The Yi Jing warns: gentleness is worth nothing if it is not sincere. Wind that lies becomes toxic wind.