Transformation · lines 3 and 4
Passivity becomes Success in Small Matters
What this change means
With the third and fourth lines moving, Mountain and Thunder replace the open Earth: a sound on a high, narrow pass. The fourth leads: keep out of sight and away from the noise. The third adds that steady work done without show will be recognized. The resulting hexagram, 62 Success in Small Matters, frames the scale. This isn't the time for great things but for small achievements. Trying to go beyond your current means would lead you astray and waste your effort. So stay modest in ambition and careful in detail. Do the small tasks well, privately, and let them accumulate. Don't stretch for the big gesture or the public moment. Living in step with a small season isn't settling for less; it's how you keep your resources intact for when a larger one arrives.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 4 of 2 Passivity
Staying away from the noise, out of sight, is the best way to get what you want.
A bag tied at the neck. No fault, no praise.
- 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.
- 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.
- The judgment of 62 Success in Small Matters
This isn't a time for great things; it's a time for small achievements. Recognizing that will help you live in step with the moment. Trying to go beyond your present means and resources will lead you astray and waste your efforts.
Success. Constancy is favorable. Small things can be done, not great ones. The flying bird leaves its call behind: it is not fitting to rise, it is fitting to descend. Great good fortune.
The trigrams
The way back
62 Success in Small Matters → 2 Passivitylines 3 and 4
Other transformations of Passivity
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1 and 2
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 3
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 3
- 51Shocklines 1 and 4
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2 and 4
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1 and 5
- 29Waterlines 2 and 5
- 39Held Backlines 3 and 5
- 45Meetinglines 4 and 5
- 27Nourishmentlines 1 and 6
- 4Immaturitylines 2 and 6
- 52Abidinglines 3 and 6
- 35Advancelines 4 and 6
- 20Observinglines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.