What this change means
Four lines move, from the first to the fourth, and both trigrams become Wind: Innocence turns into 57 Gentleness, wind following wind. With this much change, the two lines that don't move, the fifth and the top, carry the counsel. The fifth says it's time to change course: reflect before setting out, and once you know what you want, acting makes success likely. The top line warns that dropping a project because results aren't visible yet throws away what you've gained. Seen through Innocence, this is a call to honest persistence. The thunderous impulse becomes something softer and more penetrating, progress by steady influence rather than force. Take time to clarify your direction, then commit to it. Don't push, and don't quit. Small, consistent actions and the support of people above you tend to add up, even when progress looks slow.
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 57 Gentleness, which stays still
It's time to change course. Reflect before you set out; once you know what you want, taking action will make your success certain.
Constancy brings good fortune. Regret vanishes. Nothing that is not favorable. No beginning, yet an end. Three days before the geng day, three days after the geng day: good fortune.
- Line 6 of 57 Gentleness, which stays still
If you lose heart and drop the project because you don't see results yet, you'll lose what you've gained.
Yielding beneath the bed. Loses goods and axe. Even with constancy, misfortune.
- The judgment of 25 Innocence
If you act with a pure heart, free of hidden motives and without straying from what is right, true to original human nature, you'll let the blessings of heaven reach you. Otherwise you'll meet obstacles and your affairs will become difficult.
Great success. Constancy is favorable. If it is not upright, there is calamity. It is not favorable to have somewhere to go.
- Line 1 of 25 Innocence
Follow the way of the heart: it will always know what is right at each moment. This will lead you to success.
Without falseness. Going brings good fortune.
- Line 2 of 25 Innocence
Doing your work without thinking about what you'll get from it is the way to succeed.
Not plowing with the harvest in mind, not clearing land with the ripe field in mind: then it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
- Line 3 of 25 Innocence
Watch and act at the right time, because a good deed done at the wrong moment turns out badly.
An undeserved calamity: someone tied up an ox; the traveler takes it, and the calamity falls on the villagers.
- Line 4 of 25 Innocence
No one can take from you what belongs to you, so keep doing the right thing at the right time, and you'll reap the fruits.
Constancy is possible. No fault.
- The judgment of 57 Gentleness
It's a time when you'll gain and succeed through gentleness. This isn't the time for big actions, or for using pressure or force. It's a time to choose a path and stay on it steadily. Even if you don't see much progress, success will show itself through the build-up of small actions and through seeking the support of those above you.
Small success. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. It is favorable to see the great person.
The trigrams
The way back
57 Gentleness → 25 Innocencelines 1, 2, 3, and 4
Other transformations of Innocence
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 4Immaturitylines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 52Abidinglines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 26Great Achievementslines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 28Excesseslines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 29Waterlines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 39Held Backlines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 5Inactionlines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 34Great Manifestationlines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 2Passivitylines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 19Fleeting Successlines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 36Darknesslines 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.