What this change means
The fourth line moves and the upper Water turns into Lake, though a lake with its water draining away. The line itself is one of the kinder ones in the pit. It says obstacles can be overcome now only if you accept help that looks small: a simple offering passed through a window, plain vessels, nothing grand, and yet no fault in the end. The resulting hexagram, 47 Overwhelmed, shows why that modest help matters so much. Circumstances are hard against you, the wrong people may be around, and your words aren't believed. Pushing doesn't work here. What holds you up is the inner light you carry, and the small, sincere gestures that reach you sideways rather than through the front door. So don't wait for a rescue on a grand scale. Open up to the quiet hand that's offered, accept what's simple, and let your inner strength carry you until conditions shift.
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 29 Water
Obstacles will be overcome now only if you open up to help that seems minor but will make the difference.
A jug of wine, a bowl of grain besides, in clay vessels. The simple offering passes in through the window. In the end, no fault.
- 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.
- The judgment of 47 Overwhelmed
Things are very much against you: the wrong people surround you, no one believes what you say, and obstacles hem you in. All you can do is accept it and wait for better conditions to come. Your only resource is the inner light that lives in you; turn to that strength to hold you up right now.
Success. For the great person, constancy brings good fortune. No fault. They speak and are not believed.
The trigrams
The way back
47 Overwhelmed → 29 Waterline 4
Other transformations of Water
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.