Transformation · lines 2, 3, 4, and 5
Fleeting Success becomes Renewal
What this change means
Fire rises in the middle of the lake as four lines move, from the second to the fifth: the good season becomes a time for shedding an old skin. The two still lines of 49 Renewal carry the reading. The first says not to rush: wait for favorable conditions and for clarity about what you want to renew. The top line asks you to weigh which changes you can really make now; an overly ambitious change has to wait for a better time.
So the urge to transform is real, and so are its limits. Use the favorable months to get clear rather than to tear everything down. Decide what's no longer working, choose the changes within reach, and let the rest mature. Watch for hurrying a renewal because luck feels on your side; changes that come too early or too large tend to stall, while well-timed ones hold.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 1 of 49 Renewal, which stays still
Don't rush into changes. Wait until conditions are favorable and you're clear about what you want to renew.
Bound fast with the hide of a yellow ox.
- Line 6 of 49 Renewal, which stays still
Take stock of the changes you can actually make now, given the circumstances. A change that's too ambitious has to wait for a better time.
The noble person changes like the leopard; the petty person changes face. Setting out brings misfortune. Abiding in 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.
- Line 2 of 19 Fleeting Success
Recognizing that every situation is impermanent will let you move through each phase not from fear, but trusting that you have what you need to get through it.
Drawing near together. Good fortune; nothing that is not favorable.
- Line 3 of 19 Fleeting Success
Relying too much on favorable situations will lead you to inertia and loss. If you react early, you can recover.
Drawing near with sweetness. Nothing is favorable. Once grieved by it, no fault.
- 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 5 of 19 Fleeting Success
Surrounding yourself with capable collaborators and respecting what they do, encouraging their autonomy, will bring you a stable achievement.
Drawing near with wisdom: what befits the great ruler. Good fortune.
- The judgment of 49 Renewal
You're in a time of renewal, like shedding a skin. Open yourself to change and to new ways of doing things. Success lies in taking each step at exactly the right moment, and in weighing what needs to change and what doesn't, what is no longer doing its job. Don't be afraid to let it go: you need to make room for the new to arrive.
When the day has come, there is trust. Great success. Constancy is favorable. Regret vanishes.
The trigrams
The way back
49 Renewal → 19 Fleeting Successlines 2, 3, 4, and 5
Other transformations of Fleeting Success
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 1, 2, 3, and 4
- 39Held Backlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 45Meetinglines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 28Excesseslines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 52Abidinglines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 35Advancelines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 30The Flamelines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 20Observinglines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 57Gentlenesslines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 37The Tribelines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 6Conflictlines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 25Innocencelines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 1Activitylines 3, 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.