Transformation · lines 2, 3, and 6

Passivity becomes Loss, Then Gain

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Wind below the mountain: three lines move, and something that had settled in the Earth starts to stir. Both judgments weigh the same. 2 Passivity counsels patience and receptivity, letting others guide rather than taking command. The resulting hexagram, 18 Loss, Then Gain, says mistakes have brought you into decline, and that admitting them and making the needed corrections can bring you back to success. Reflect on the cause, act, and then allow results the time they need. The patience of the first judgment is exactly what the second needs. Repair takes time. Look honestly at what went wrong, accept advice from people who see clearly, and correct course step by step. Don't expect immediate results. Steady, humble repair tends to restore what impatience would only damage further.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. The judgment of 2 Passivity

    This is not the time to take the initiative to achieve things. It's better to let others guide you and to keep at your projects with patience.

    Great success. The constancy of a mare is favorable. The noble person has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find someone to guide them. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest and to lose them in the northeast. Calm constancy brings good fortune.

  2. The judgment of 18 Loss, Then Gain

    You've made mistakes that have brought you into decline; still, admitting it and making the corrections needed will lead you back to success. Take time to reflect on what caused the loss and, once you've acted, give success time to arrive.

    Great success. It is favorable to cross the great river. Three days before the first day, three days after the first day.

  3. Line 2 of 2 Passivity

    Quietly, without a lot of fuss, you can succeed.

    Straight, square, great. Without learning it, nothing that is not favorable.

  4. Line 3 of 2 Passivity

    What you do with perseverance and without showing off will be appreciated and recognized.

    Holding its brightness within; it can stay constant. If it serves in the king's affairs, no achievement of its own, but a good end.

  5. Line 6 of 2 Passivity

    It's not the time to lead; it's the time to follow. Trying to take a leading position now will bring retaliation on you that affects everyone.

    Dragons fight in the open country. Their blood is dark and yellow.

The trigrams

Below Earth Wind
Above Earth Mountain

The way back

18 Loss, Then Gain → 2 Passivity
lines 2, 3, and 6

Other transformations of Passivity

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Toss the coins