Transformation · lines 2, 4, and 5

Innocence becomes Decrease

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Lines two, four and five move. Thunder becomes Lake, Heaven becomes Mountain, and Innocence turns into 41 Decrease, a lake at the foot of a mountain. Three moving lines put both judgments on the scale. Innocence asks that nothing you do hide a second purpose. The resulting hexagram calls for moderation: save resources and energy, avoid excess of every kind, and prepare quietly, because growth comes later. Sincerity and restraint go together here. Ask what you're spending on things that don't truly matter, in money, time or feeling, and cut back honestly. Curb anger and hold back cravings. This isn't loss for its own sake; it's clearing the ground. A simpler, more honest way of living now tends to leave you ready when the time to expand arrives.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Line 5 of 25 Innocence

    If adverse things happen to you that aren't caused by your own negligence, don't worry: little by little things will straighten out until they're back on course.

    An undeserved illness. Take no medicine: there will be joy.

The trigrams

Below Thunder Lake
Above Heaven Mountain

The way back

41 Decrease → 25 Innocence
lines 2, 4, and 5

Other transformations of Innocence

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Toss the coins