What this hexagram is about
The breath of Heaven and Earth no longer pass between them — the image of obstruction and deadlock. When the small-minded hold sway and the right way cannot move, the noble person withdraws into frugal virtue, veils his brilliance, and waits quietly for standstill to reach its turn toward peace.
The Judgment 卦辞
否之匪人，不利君子贞，大往小来。
Standstill set by the unworthy; it does not favor the noble person's perseverance. The great departs, the small comes.
The Image 大象传
《象》曰：天地不交，否；君子以俭德辟难，不可荣以禄。
Heaven and earth do not meet; so the noble person, frugal in virtue, escapes hardship and seeks no glory in rank or pay.
Commentary on the Lines 小象传
拔茅贞吉，志在君也。
Pulling up the reed, perseverance brings good fortune — the will is set on the ruler.
The Six Lines (hover over the figure above)
Nine at the top倾否，先否后喜。
The deadlock is at last overthrown and broken open — hardship first, and then it turns to joy.
Nine in the fifth place休否，大人吉。其亡其亡，系于苞桑。
To set about turning the deadlock around — for the great, good fortune. Keep ever the warning, 'it may fail, it may fail,' and one stands as firm as if bound to the deep-clustered roots of the mulberry.
Nine in the fourth place有命无咎，畴离祉。
To act in keeping with what Heaven ordains brings no fault, and one's own kind share in the blessing.
Six in the third place包羞。
A heart full of compromise, harboring its own shame — having lost rectitude, one is disgraced.
Six in the second place包承，小人吉，大人否，亨。
To bear and to yield to those above: the small-minded rest in this and find fortune, but the great do not stoop to comply — keeping to their stand amid obstruction, they prosper in themselves.
Initial Six拔茅茹，以其汇，贞吉，亨。
Pull up the reed and its roots come tangled along, like gathering with like; hold to what is right, and there is good fortune and success.