Transformation · lines 3 and 5
Initial Obstacles becomes Darkness
What this change means
Light sinks into the earth as the third and fifth lines move: fire below, earth above, and a brightness that has to stay hidden for a while. The fifth line leads. Go slowly, one step at a time; small undertakings can turn out well, but large ones tend to fail right now, however determined you are. The third line reinforces this with the image of a hunter going after a deer among the trees with no one to show the way. Seeing the warning and letting the chase go spares you distress.
The resulting hexagram, 36 Darkness, describes a difficult time, when you may have to live alongside people who aren't right for you. Protect yourself, keep your integrity, and avoid drawing attention to your talents. That isn't giving up; it's how you stay safe until better times come. Hard periods tend to pass. Keep your light inside, and keep your steps small.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 5 of 3 Initial Obstacles
Act with caution, step by step, without rushing.
Holding back its richness. In small things, constancy brings good fortune; in great things, even with constancy, misfortune.
- Line 3 of 3 Initial Obstacles
Right now obstacles aren't solved by acting: they're solved by stepping back until conditions improve.
Chasing the deer with no gamekeeper, only going deeper into the forest. The noble person sees the sign and would rather let it go. Going on: distress.
- 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 36 Darkness
It's a dark time: circumstances force you to live alongside the wrong people. If you know how to protect yourself, hold on to your integrity, and go unnoticed, without openly showing your light and your talents, you'll stay safe until better times come. However hard they seem, hard times pass too.
Constancy in hardship is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
36 Darkness → 3 Initial Obstacleslines 3 and 5
Other transformations of Initial Obstacles
- 29Waterlines 1 and 2
- 39Held Backlines 1 and 3
- 5Inactionlines 2 and 3
- 45Meetinglines 1 and 4
- 58Inner Peacelines 2 and 4
- 49Renewallines 3 and 4
- 2Passivitylines 1 and 5
- 19Fleeting Successlines 2 and 5
- 51Shocklines 4 and 5
- 20Observinglines 1 and 6
- 61Inner Integritylines 2 and 6
- 37The Tribelines 3 and 6
- 25Innocencelines 4 and 6
- 27Nourishmentlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.