A source-first reading note for Hexagram 29, Kan (The Abysmal Water), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Reference translation
The Abyss, repeated: peril upon peril. With sincerity held in the heart, there is success. Going forward brings esteem and merit. The Commentary on the Judgment says: "The Repeated Pit" — peril doubled. Water flows on, yet fills not the depths. It moves through danger without losing its truth. "Hold fast the heart, and success comes" — for the firm dwells in the center. "Going forward brings esteem" — to advance is to achieve. The peril of heaven cannot be scaled. The peril of earth lies in its mountains, rivers, hills, and mounds. Kings and princes set up defenses to guard their realms. Great indeed is the use of peril in its proper time.
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
Context from the authority layer
According to the standard convention of the Yijing, no additional character is placed before a hexagram's name. The Kan hexagram alone, because its dangers and difficulties are layered upon one another, has the character "xi" specially added to its name. The Zhengyi states: "'Xi' carries two meanings. The first is repetition or doubling, meaning that above and below are both Kan—danger stacked upon danger, and it is this doubling of danger that constitutes the function of danger itself. The second is that when a person must traverse danger, they must first become practiced and familiar with the matter at hand before they can pass through it. Hence the word 'xi.
Read the structure before the slogan
The lower trigram is 坎 (水), associated in the bundled corpus with 陷; the upper trigram is 坎 (水), associated with 陷. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
One accountable observation practice
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 29. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Common misread to avoid
Do not turn The Abysmal Water into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
Source boundary
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 29 was cast for your question.