Transformation · lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6
Loss, Then Gain becomes Shock
What this change means
Five lines move and only the fifth holds, turning the figure into thunder upon thunder. That still line of 51 Shock gives the reading. It says obstacles keep coming and seem endless, yet staying connected to your center and true to your purpose keeps you from losing ground. After so much movement, that's the essential counsel. The resulting hexagram asks you to keep your composure when unexpected situations would frighten others, and to act calmly. Repair rarely goes smoothly. Setbacks may follow each other quickly, and each can feel like proof that nothing has changed. Don't let them shake your center. Come back, again and again, to why you began correcting things in the first place. Calm persistence through repeated jolts is what turns loss into gain here.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 5 of 51 Shock, which stays still
Obstacles come one after another and seem endless. Still, staying connected to your center and true to your purpose will keep you from losses.
Thunder going and coming: danger. Of much, nothing is lost; there is a duty to carry out.
- The judgment of 18 Loss, Then Gain
You've made mistakes that have brought you into decline; still, admitting it and making the corrections needed will lead you back to success. Take time to reflect on what caused the loss and, once you've acted, give success time to arrive.
Great success. It is favorable to cross the great river. Three days before the first day, three days after the first day.
- Line 1 of 18 Loss, Then Gain
The loss came from being too rigid and wanting to do things the traditional way. If you can be flexible and innovate, you'll succeed.
Setting right what the father spoiled. There is a son; the late father is left without fault. Danger; in the end, good fortune.
- Line 2 of 18 Loss, Then Gain
Your losses come from weakness, from not persevering. Reflecting and taking up the path again with resolve will bring success.
Setting right what the mother spoiled. Constancy will not do.
- Line 3 of 18 Loss, Then Gain
Acting too rigidly in the past has led you to loss, but holding on to that rigidity to fix it won't help either.
Setting right what the father spoiled. A little regret; no great fault.
- Line 4 of 18 Loss, Then Gain
If you show a weak character and keep letting stronger personalities lead you, you won't succeed.
Indulging what the father spoiled. Going on: distress.
- Line 6 of 18 Loss, Then Gain
If you have high goals, beyond purely personal interests, and let them drive you, you'll succeed.
Serving neither kings nor lords; holding one's own work high.
- The judgment of 51 Shock
When unexpected situations come along that would frighten others, keep control and act calmly, without losing your composure. This attitude will get you results in what you want and let you succeed where others fail.
Success. Thunder comes, and there is dread; then laughter and easy talk. The thunder alarms a hundred leagues around, yet neither the ladle nor the sacrificial wine is let fall.
The trigrams
The way back
51 Shock → 18 Loss, Then Gainlines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6
Other transformations of Loss, Then Gain
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.