What this change means
The top line moves, and the earth above hardens into a mountain standing over the lake. This line speaks of generosity at the height of good fortune: when you have power and plenty, helping others grow is what keeps your success alive. It's the most open-handed line in 19 Fleeting Success, and it points to giving as a way of making good times last.
The resulting hexagram, 41 Decrease, asks for moderation and saving. Conserve resources and energy, avoid excess of every kind, and get ready for a period of growth that will follow. At first glance the two seem at odds: give generously, yet save. In practice they fit. Give where it truly helps others improve, and cut what's wasteful or showy. Watch for confusing generosity with spending; the lines favor gifts that build people up, not consumption that leaves you depleted when the season changes.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 6 of 19 Fleeting Success
Being generous in times of power and plenty, helping others improve, will keep your success going.
Drawing near with generosity. Good fortune, no fault.
- 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 41 Decrease
It's a time for moderation and saving: conserving your resources and energy matters a great deal now. A period of growth will follow, but for now you need to stay aware and avoid excess of every kind while you get ready to take on big projects.
There is sincere trust. Great good fortune. No fault. Constancy is possible. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. What to offer? Two bowls will do for the offering.
The trigrams
The way back
41 Decrease → 19 Fleeting Successline 6
Other transformations of Fleeting Success
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.