What this change means
Fire glows at the foot of a mountain where the pit used to be, as every line but the fourth moves: danger gives way to grace. The one still line, the fourth of 22 Good Manners, gives the guidance: a time of great well-being is coming, and you can let yourself enjoy it. The broader message of the resulting hexagram is to be kind and courteous with others, because good manners lead to good results now. It favors everyday matters over grand undertakings. So after a long run of obstacles, life is getting lighter. Accept the ease without suspicion. Watch for the habit of bracing for the next blow when the moment doesn't call for it. Tend to daily affairs with care and kindness, and leave big decisions for another time. Enjoying this period is part of what the moment asks.
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 22 Good Manners, which stays still
A time of great well-being is coming, and you can allow yourself to enjoy it.
Adorned and white; a white horse as if on wings. Not a raider: one who comes to ask for marriage.
- The judgment of 29 Water
Just as a stream moves through obstacles and gets past them, following its course without stagnating, you're at a time when obstacles will come one after another, but you'll get past them if you can keep moving. Letting fear paralyze you will only leave you stuck.
There is sincere trust. Only the heart gets through. Going earns esteem.
- Line 1 of 29 Water
You won't get results if you keep acting recklessly in the direction you're going, without watching outside circumstances.
Pit upon pit. Entering the bottom of the pit. Misfortune.
- Line 2 of 29 Water
You're in a dangerous situation where you only get results in small matters. This isn't the time for great success.
In the pit there is danger. Seeking, a little is gained.
- Line 3 of 29 Water
It's time to stop, watch and act only when you're sure that moving forward will lead to success. Ask for inner guidance.
Coming and going: pit and pit. Danger, and depth besides. Entering the bottom of the pit. Do not act.
- Line 5 of 29 Water
You'll get out of the obstacles now if you follow the path of least resistance and, step by step, head toward your goal.
The pit does not overflow; it fills just to the level. No fault.
- Line 6 of 29 Water
Trying to escape the obstacles, you get more tangled if you keep doing things the wrong way and side with the wrong people.
Bound with braided cords, set among thorn thickets; three years and no way out. Misfortune.
- The judgment of 22 Good Manners
It's a time to be kind and courteous and to use good manners with others if you want good results in what you undertake. What might seem superficial at another time leads you to success now. It's a time to handle everyday matters, not great undertakings.
Success. In small things, it is favorable to have somewhere to go.
The trigrams
The way back
22 Good Manners → 29 Waterlines 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Water
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.