What this change means
A tree begins to grow on the Mountain as the third and fourth lines move, and Decline grows into 53 Gradual Progress. The fourth line leads: there's a mandate, no fault, and companions share the blessing; act genuinely and with integrity, and you'll come through well. The third line tempers it with patience. You may have to carry an uncomfortable position for a while, but things improve little by little as justice takes its course. The resulting hexagram describes the shape of this improvement: progress step by step, through stages that make it stable, while trying to hurry brings delays and obstacles. So the turn is real, and slow. Do the honest work in front of you. Don't measure yourself by how fast things change, and don't try to leap past the stages. One rung at a time, with integrity, is how this rise holds.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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 3 of 12 Decline
Little by little things will improve; it's a matter of waiting patiently for justice to be done.
Embracing shame.
- 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 53 Gradual Progress
You'll make progress, and it will come step by step, gradually, through stages that make it lasting and stable. Trying to speed things up will bring delays and obstacles. Keep at it, one rung at a time.
The woman goes to be married: good fortune. Constancy is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
53 Gradual Progress → 12 Declinelines 3 and 4
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
- 21Bitinglines 1 and 5
- 64Transitionlines 2 and 5
- 56The Travelerlines 3 and 5
- 23The Falllines 4 and 5
- 17Adaptinglines 1 and 6
- 47Overwhelmedlines 2 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.