What this change means
One mountain rests on another as the third and top lines move, and both trigrams turn still. The top leads: it's time to follow, not to lead; reaching for the lead now would bring retaliation that spreads to everyone. The third adds that steady work without show will be recognized in time. The resulting hexagram, 52 Abiding, asks for stillness: stay centered and steady, pause calmly, and let circumstances signal when to move. So resist the urge to make a move for position. Keep doing your work quietly, and otherwise stay put. Don't go beyond what's actually happening. A mountain doesn't compete; it simply stays. That steadiness tends to be its own strength, and it keeps you out of a fight that would cost more than it could win.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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.
- 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 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
52 Abiding → 2 Passivitylines 3 and 6
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
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 3 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
- 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.