Transformation · lines 1, 3, 4, and 5

Gathering with Equals becomes The Fall

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Only a single firm line is left on top as four lines move: the mountain resting on the earth. In 23 The Fall, the still lines guide the reading. The second says resources and help aren't enough right now, and the wise course is to wait for better conditions. The top line says adverse situations will give way little by little, until adversity starts to turn into opportunity. So the community is losing ground, and pushing harder won't stop it. Conserve what you have. Don't stake your energy on fights you can't win while support is thin. Stay steady, protect the people who depend on you, and watch for the turn. What remains intact after this stripping away can become the seed of the next gathering.

What to read, in order

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

  1. Line 2 of 23 The Fall, which stays still

    Resources and help aren't enough right now. All you can do is wait for better conditions.

    The bed is stripped at the frame. Constancy is destroyed: misfortune.

  2. Line 6 of 23 The Fall, which stays still

    Little by little the adverse situations will give way, and gradually adversity will turn into opportunity.

    A great fruit left uneaten. The noble person gains a carriage; the petty person's hut is stripped.

  3. The judgment of 13 Gathering with Equals

    It's a time of meetings with people of a high nature like yours, with whom you can carry out important tasks and projects. Relationships built on trust and mutual support take shape. Large, innovative projects are favored.

    Community in the open country. Success. It is favorable to cross the great river. The constancy of the noble person is favorable.

  4. Line 1 of 13 Gathering with Equals

    Shared projects should be carried out in the open, with nothing hidden.

    Community at the gate. No fault.

  5. Line 3 of 13 Gathering with Equals

    If you let distrust grow in your relationships and let the people in them hide things from each other, your actions will fail.

    Hiding soldiers in the brush, climbing the high hill. For three years, no rising.

  6. Line 4 of 13 Gathering with Equals

    Despite the differences, if you reach agreements, trust will come back little by little.

    Climbing up on the wall, yet unable to attack. Good fortune.

  7. Line 5 of 13 Gathering with Equals

    The big differences seem impossible to bridge; still, with patience and a willing heart, union returns.

    Community: first wailing and cries, then laughter. The great armies manage to meet.

  8. The judgment of 23 The Fall

    It's a time of obstacles and difficulties when, even if you're right, your words aren't believed. Lesser people who misuse power are on the rise, and you could become their victim. Recognizing this time without trying to push ahead, and being generous and giving toward those beneath you, will help you hold on while circumstances change.

    It is not favorable to have somewhere to go.

The trigrams

Below Fire Earth
Above Heaven Mountain

The way back

23 The Fall → 13 Gathering with Equals
lines 1, 3, 4, and 5

Other transformations of Gathering with Equals

Make your own cast

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

Toss the coins