What this change means
The ridgepole rises: the fourth line is where the sagging beam is braced from below, and that's good fortune. Help can come to you now from the people under you. But the line carries a condition: if something else creeps in, if you take advantage of their support and give nothing back, they'll withdraw and there will be loss. As it moves, the Lake above becomes Water over wood, and the resulting hexagram, 48 Right Action, shows a well. Opportunities are on your side, but they're useless if you keep putting off decisions; the point is to use what you already have. So draw on the support around you, and draw on it well. Thank people, return what you receive, and act on the resources at hand instead of hunting for new ones. A well that's used and cared for keeps giving.
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 28 Excesses
You can receive help from those under you now, but if you take advantage of it and there's no balance between giving and receiving, they'll withdraw their support and there will be loss.
The ridgepole rises. Good fortune. If there is something else, distress.
- The judgment of 28 Excesses
You're in a situation that calls for extraordinary measures to keep what you've achieved from collapsing. Check and strengthen the foundations that hold up your projects, take innovative action and step out of your comfort zone. That way your success is assured; otherwise, loss can't be avoided.
The ridgepole sags. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. Success.
- The judgment of 48 Right Action
You're at a moment when opportunities are on your side. But if you don't know how to use them because you keep putting off decisions and actions, being in the right place at the right time won't do you any good. It's not about looking for new things but about making use of what you have, or there will be loss.
The town is changed, the well is not. Nothing lost, nothing gained. They come and go, and draw from the well. Nearly there, the rope does not yet reach the well; if the jar breaks, misfortune.
The trigrams
The way back
48 Right Action → 28 Excessesline 4
Other transformations of Excesses
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.