Transformation · lines 1 and 6
Small Things becomes Right Action
What this change means
Water over wood, the old image of a well, appears as the top and bottom lines move together. The sixth line leads: what you wanted comes through patient work, but rather than relax or set out on something new, stay constant and keep going step by step. The first line supports this from below with a return to your own path, to situations you can control. One line is about arriving, the other about going home, and both reject the restless push forward. The resulting hexagram, 48 Right Action, makes the point practical. The opportunities are already on your side, but they're worth nothing if you keep putting off decisions. It isn't about chasing something new; it's about using what you have. So draw from the well you've already dug. Make the decisions you've been delaying, and let steady use of your resources do the rest.
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 9 Small Things
You get what you want thanks to step-by-step work. Still, don't rest on your laurels: you have to stay constant and keep working little by little.
The rain has come, the rest has come. Virtue has piled up like a load. The wife's constancy is in danger. The moon is nearly full. For the noble person, setting out brings misfortune.
- Line 1 of 9 Small Things
What's called for now is to fall back to situations where you have more control. This isn't a loss: it's a smart move.
Returning by its own way. What fault could there be? Good fortune.
- The judgment of 9 Small Things
You're facing a situation that promises success, but it isn't time yet. There are still obstacles on the way that you need to resolve. For now you can take small actions and wait for the right moment to act on a large scale.
Success. Dense clouds and no rain, from my western outskirts.
- The judgment of 48 Right Action
You're at a moment when opportunities are on your side. But if you don't know how to use them because you keep putting off decisions and actions, being in the right place at the right time won't do you any good. It's not about looking for new things but about making use of what you have, or there will be loss.
The town is changed, the well is not. Nothing lost, nothing gained. They come and go, and draw from the well. Nearly there, the rope does not yet reach the well; if the jar breaks, misfortune.
The trigrams
The way back
48 Right Action → 9 Small Thingslines 1 and 6
Other transformations of Small Things
- 53Gradual Progresslines 1 and 2
- 59Release from Obstacleslines 1 and 3
- 42Increaselines 2 and 3
- 44Lack of Firmnesslines 1 and 4
- 13Gathering with Equalslines 2 and 4
- 10Treading Carefullylines 3 and 4
- 18Loss, Then Gainlines 1 and 5
- 22Good Mannerslines 2 and 5
- 41Decreaselines 3 and 5
- 14Wealthlines 4 and 5
- 63After the Endlines 2 and 6
- 60Thriftlines 3 and 6
- 43Overflowinglines 4 and 6
- 11Well-Beinglines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.