Transformation · lines 1 and 4
Fleeting Success becomes Clearing Obstacles
What this change means
Thunder and rain break loose as the first and fourth lines move: the lake below turns to water, and the earth above becomes Thunder. The fourth line leads. Join the people beneath you and support them; that's what keeps you steady. The first line echoes it from below: drawing near the right people now gives you backing for when the good period fades. Both lines point the same way, toward a web of mutual support.
The resulting hexagram, 40 Clearing Obstacles, describes obstacles overcome one by one and a time that calls for balance. Act quickly and decisively where you can, without overrating your abilities, and if you need rest or a step back before continuing, take it. With your people around you, the release is easier to sustain. Watch for overconfidence once things open up; the relief is real, but it rests on the support you've built, not on your strength alone.
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 19 Fleeting Success
Joining with the people under you and supporting them will help you stay stable.
Drawing near all the way. No fault.
- Line 1 of 19 Fleeting Success
If you join with the right people, you'll have support and backing when the decline comes.
Drawing near together. Constancy brings good fortune.
- The judgment of 19 Fleeting Success
A period of luck, fortune and well-being is coming. Make the most of it, because it will last only eight months; after that, conditions will change. If you can pay attention, read the signs and take care and precautions before the decline arrives, you won't avoid it, but you will lessen its effects while circumstances change.
Great success. Constancy is favorable. When the eighth month comes, misfortune.
- The judgment of 40 Clearing Obstacles
The obstacles have been overcome one by one. You're in a time when balance matters: act quickly and decisively as far as you can, without overrating your abilities. If you feel you need a rest, or even to step back before going on, do it.
The southwest is favorable. With nowhere to go, coming back brings good fortune. With somewhere to go, going early brings good fortune.
The trigrams
The way back
40 Clearing Obstacles → 19 Fleeting Successlines 1 and 4
Other transformations of Fleeting Success
- 2Passivitylines 1 and 2
- 46Going Uplines 1 and 3
- 36Darknesslines 2 and 3
- 51Shocklines 2 and 4
- 34Great Manifestationlines 3 and 4
- 29Waterlines 1 and 5
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 2 and 5
- 5Inactionlines 3 and 5
- 58Inner Peacelines 4 and 5
- 4Immaturitylines 1 and 6
- 27Nourishmentlines 2 and 6
- 26Great Achievementslines 3 and 6
- 38Oppositeslines 4 and 6
- 61Inner Integritylines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.