The word
貞, zhēn, is one of the most frequent words in the I Ching. It has two layers:
- At its origin, in Shang divination inscriptions, 貞 was the verb of consulting: "to put a question to the oracle."
- From the Ten Wings on, commentators read it as steadiness in what is right: staying upright and holding your course.
In Cambios we always render it "constancy," which follows the second reading, the one that has guided the book for over two thousand years.
The formulas
- Constancy is favorable (利貞): keep up what you're doing.
- Constancy brings good fortune (貞吉).
- Constancy is in danger (貞厲): holding firm carries risk.
- Constancy brings distress (貞吝).
- Even with constancy, misfortune (貞凶): firmness isn't enough; insisting is the problem.
The last three matter: constancy isn't stubbornness. There are times when holding on is exactly what doesn't help.
Variations
Sometimes constancy takes a particular shape: the constancy of a mare in Passivity, the lasting constancy of use nine, use six, constancy in hardship (利艱貞).
In a reading
When you get "constancy is favorable," ask yourself: what's right here, and can you keep to it without forcing it? See also four virtues.