What this change means
The second line moves, turning the thunder below into a lake, and the push to get started meets a pause. This line describes being stuck, turning in place, while the horses of your team pull in different directions. Someone approaches, and it's easy to mistake them for a threat; they may in fact be coming to offer a bond. Obstacles are real on this road, but support is on its way, and the line asks you to stay careful until you feel secure enough to accept it. The young woman in the old image waits years before giving her word, and that patience isn't stubbornness: it's knowing when a commitment is ready.
The resulting hexagram, 60 Thrift, adds a practical layer. Conserve your time, energy and resources now, so that when the right help and the right moment arrive, you meet them prepared. Don't spend yourself on a start that isn't ready.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 2 of 3 Initial Obstacles
Obstacles are on the way, but help will come. Act with caution until you feel secure and can receive that help.
Stuck, turning in place; the horses of the team pull apart. Not a raider: someone come to ask for marriage. The young woman is constant and gives no promise; after ten years she gives it.
- The judgment of 3 Initial Obstacles
This isn't the time to act directly: look for people who can act for you, allies who represent you. Still, stay alert so you know when the time comes to take back the initiative and control.
Great success. Constancy is favorable. Having somewhere to go is of no use yet. It is favorable to install lords.
- The judgment of 60 Thrift
It's a time to conserve your time, energy and resources so you're ready for what lies ahead. If you do, when challenges arrive you'll be prepared and will overcome them easily.
Success. Bitter measure cannot be kept up with constancy.
The trigrams
The way back
60 Thrift → 3 Initial Obstaclesline 2
Other transformations of Initial Obstacles
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.