Transformation · lines 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
Treading Carefully becomes Passivity
What this change means
Earth upon earth: five lines move, and only the third keeps its place. In 2 Passivity, that still line says that steady work done without display earns appreciation and recognition. Treading Carefully nearly dissolves into receptivity here. It isn't the time to take the initiative; let others guide you and keep working on your projects with patience. The third line of the starting hexagram was the one that overrated itself and got bitten. Its stillness now turns that lesson around: the remedy for overconfidence is quiet, persistent work that doesn't seek attention. So keep at it without fanfare. Follow good guidance, do your part steadily, and let the results speak. Recognition tends to come to effort that isn't trying to be seen.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 3 of 2 Passivity, which stays still
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 10 Treading Carefully
You're facing a difficult situation. If you know how to conduct yourself properly, moving with awareness and gentleness, even people who could be rivals and stand in your way will give ground, and may even become your allies.
Stepping on the tiger's tail; it does not bite. Success.
- Line 1 of 10 Treading Carefully
You're in a position out of view that will let you focus on your projects.
A plain step. Going: no fault.
- Line 2 of 10 Treading Carefully
Staying on your own with your projects, for now, will lead you to success.
Treading a level, open road. For one who lives apart, constancy brings good fortune.
- Line 4 of 10 Treading Carefully
You're getting involved in a risky venture, but your inner strength and firmness will help you succeed.
Stepping on the tiger's tail. Wary, wary; in the end, good fortune.
- Line 5 of 10 Treading Carefully
If you're aware of the danger in going ahead and you act with caution, you'll succeed.
A resolute step. Constancy is in danger.
- Line 6 of 10 Treading Carefully
If you watch for the favorable signs to know when to act, and then act decisively, you'll succeed.
Looking back over the steps taken, examining the signs. If it turns back on itself: great good fortune.
- 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 trigrams
The way back
2 Passivity → 10 Treading Carefullylines 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Treading Carefully
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.