What this change means
A Lake loses its water below: the second and top lines move, and Decline becomes 47 Overwhelmed. The top line leads with good news. The stagnation is overturned; after the blockage comes joy, and a stage of growth begins. The second line is the counterweight. You've been surrounded by adverse people and have had to keep your strength inside to get through. The resulting hexagram shows that the strain may not lift all at once. Some people still won't believe you, obstacles still press in, and your main resource is the inner light that lives in you. So the reading is mixed and honest: the outer turn is coming, but you may feel hard pressed for a while yet. Don't let that discourage you. Lean on your inner strength, accept what you can't change, and keep your will steady until the relief you've been promised becomes real.
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 12 Decline
After a period of stagnation comes a stage of growth, well-being and harmony.
Stagnation is overturned. First stagnation, then joy.
- 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.
- 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.
- The judgment of 47 Overwhelmed
Things are very much against you: the wrong people surround you, no one believes what you say, and obstacles hem you in. All you can do is accept it and wait for better conditions to come. Your only resource is the inner light that lives in you; turn to that strength to hold you up right now.
Success. For the great person, constancy brings good fortune. No fault. They speak and are not believed.
The trigrams
The way back
47 Overwhelmed → 12 Declinelines 2 and 6
Other transformations of Decline
- 10Treading Carefullylines 1 and 2
- 13Gathering with Equalslines 1 and 3
- 44Lack of Firmnesslines 2 and 3
- 42Increaselines 1 and 4
- 59Release from Obstacleslines 2 and 4
- 53Gradual Progresslines 3 and 4
- 21Bitinglines 1 and 5
- 64Transitionlines 2 and 5
- 56The Travelerlines 3 and 5
- 23The Falllines 4 and 5
- 17Adaptinglines 1 and 6
- 31Attractionlines 3 and 6
- 8Unionlines 4 and 6
- 16Passionlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.