What this change means
With the second line moving, the Wind below becomes Mountain, and the figure turns into one mountain resting on another. This line says your losses come from weakness, from not keeping at things. Reflection and a resolute return to the path can turn that around. Its old words add a nuance: setting right what the mother spoiled, where stubborn insistence won't do. Softness matters as much as resolve. The change leads to 52 Abiding, a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady and waiting for conditions to show when it's time to act. So the repair here starts with stopping. Before you take up the path again, pause long enough to see why you kept dropping it. Then return calmly, without forcing. Steadiness is the cure for the inconstancy behind the loss, and it starts with a quiet, honest look inward.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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.
- 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.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
52 Abiding → 18 Loss, Then Gainline 2
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.