What this change means
Water over Wind, the image of a well: four lines move, the second through the fourth and the top, and Decline becomes 48 Right Action. Two lines stay put, the first and fifth, and they set the course. The first says that when your mood is low, everything looks bleak, so you don't see the opportunities and don't draw help. The fifth says that when you recognize the opportunities around you, you feel motivated and determined, and that brings success. The resulting hexagram warns that being in the right place at the right time is useless if you keep postponing decisions; use what you already have. So the main obstacle may now be your own outlook. The stagnant season can leave a gray film over everything. Wipe it off. Look again at what's within reach, and draw from the well while it's full.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 1 of 48 Right Action, which stays still
Your mood is low, so everything looks bleak to you: you don't see the opportunities and you don't draw help.
A muddy well: no one drinks. No birds come to the old well.
- Line 5 of 48 Right Action, which stays still
You recognize the opportunities around you and feel motivated and determined to act, which will bring success.
The well is clear: the cold spring is drunk.
- 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.
- 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.
- Line 3 of 12 Decline
Little by little things will improve; it's a matter of waiting patiently for justice to be done.
Embracing shame.
- Line 4 of 12 Decline
If you act genuinely and with inner integrity, you'll come out of any situation well and be rewarded.
There is a mandate. No fault. Companions share in the blessing.
- 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 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 → 12 Declinelines 2, 3, 4, and 6
Other transformations of Decline
- 9Small Thingslines 1, 2, 3, and 4
- 14Wealthlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 41Decreaselines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 22Good Mannerslines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 18Loss, Then Gainlines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 43Overflowinglines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 60Thriftlines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 63After the Endlines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 54A Subordinate Rolelines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 55Abundancelines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 32What Lastslines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 24Coming Backlines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 7The Armylines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 15Simplicitylines 3, 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.