What this change means
With the fifth line moving, the earth on top turns to water, and water now runs above water. This line sits at the heart of the reading. It asks you to choose the situations you're able to face, so you stay out of useless fights. The old image shows game in the field, worth seizing, but it also warns about command: when the eldest son leads, things hold; when the younger one does, the army comes home carrying its dead.
The resulting hexagram, 29 Water, describes obstacles coming one after another, which you get past by keeping in motion like a stream, without letting fear freeze you. So this is a time to pick your battles well and give the lead to the person who can actually handle it. Watch for spending your strength on fights that lead nowhere. Keep moving, wisely.
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 7 The Army
Choosing the situations you're able to face will keep you out of useless fights.
There is game in the field. It is favorable to seize it. No fault. The eldest son leads the army; the younger son hauls corpses. Even with constancy, misfortune.
- The judgment of 7 The Army
Whatever your question, the favorable answer comes from acting with discipline and organization: face the situation head-on and speak clearly, say what you want, without trying to impose it.
The constancy of a seasoned leader brings good fortune. No fault.
- The judgment of 29 Water
Just as a stream moves through obstacles and gets past them, following its course without stagnating, you're at a time when obstacles will come one after another, but you'll get past them if you can keep moving. Letting fear paralyze you will only leave you stuck.
There is sincere trust. Only the heart gets through. Going earns esteem.
The trigrams
The way back
29 Water → 7 The Armyline 5
Other transformations of The Army
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.