The Well
The Unchanging Source
The town may change, the well cannot: a source open to all, and useless if the rope falls short.
The Well places Kan, The Abysmal, Water, above Xun, whose attributes include wood, and the Image is water raised by wood: the pole and bucket let down and drawn up again. The Judgment holds that the town may be changed but the well cannot be changed, that it neither decreases nor increases, and that those who come and go may all draw from it. It warns in the same breath that if the rope does not reach the water, or the jug breaks, there is misfortune. The Image has the superior man encourage the people at their work and exhort them to help one another.
Light
Signifies a shared and inexhaustible source, dependable nourishment, and the settled order that serves everyone alike whoever happens to govern the town.
Shadow
Can represent neglect: a well left muddy or in disrepair, a resource that is present but not reached, and effort that fails at the last step before the water.
