Transformation · lines 1, 2, and 6

Decline becomes Inner Peace

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Lake joins Lake as the first, second and top lines move, and Decline becomes 58 Inner Peace. The two judgments are balanced. Decline is a time of adverse people and closed doors, when the wise course is withdrawal. 58 Inner Peace is calm within that lets you achieve a great deal, nourished by time with people whose energy matches yours; just don't lose sight of your goals or you'll drift into inertia. Together they trace a passage from isolation to companionship. The quiet you kept during the stagnation can now become shared joy. Seek out the friends you truly connect with, study and practice together, as the image suggests. Let their company recharge you. At the same time, remember what you're aiming for. Ease after a hard time is sweet, and it's easy to settle into it so completely that you stop moving at all.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. The judgment of 12 Decline

    You're surrounded by adverse people and situations. Avoid getting involved with those people, no matter what they offer you. Circumstances aren't good for acting or making decisions; it's time to withdraw to a safe place and wait for conditions to change. It's time to keep a low profile.

    Stagnation: these are not worthy people. The constancy of the noble person is not favorable. The great goes, the small comes.

  2. The judgment of 58 Inner Peace

    You're in a time of calm and inner peace that lets you achieve great things. Spending time with people whose energy is like yours will nourish and recharge you to reach your aims. Still, don't lose sight of your goals, or you'll slide into inertia.

    Success. Constancy is favorable.

  3. Line 1 of 12 Decline

    If you recognize the decline and withdraw in time, warning others about it, you'll succeed later on.

    The grass is pulled up, and its tangled roots come too, each with its clump. Constancy brings good fortune. Success.

  4. Line 2 of 12 Decline

    Even when adverse people and situations surround you, keeping your strength inside helps you get through this moment.

    Embracing and obeying. For the petty person, good fortune; for the great person, stagnation. Success.

  5. Line 6 of 12 Decline

    After a period of stagnation comes a stage of growth, well-being and harmony.

    Stagnation is overturned. First stagnation, then joy.

The trigrams

Below Earth Lake
Above Heaven Lake

The way back

58 Inner Peace → 12 Decline
lines 1, 2, and 6

Other transformations of Decline

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Toss the coins