What this change means
Both Fire trigrams become Mountain when the first and fourth lines move, and the doubled flame settles into doubled stillness. The fourth line leads: whatever rises suddenly, without inner strength to feed it, burns out and is thrown away. The first line gives the cure from the bottom: stay calm and focused on your projects, and don't be swept up by the commotion of crossing footsteps around you. Approach things with reverence. The resulting hexagram, 52 Abiding, asks for a time of stillness, staying centered and steady, and waiting calmly until the world around you signals that action is due. Stay within what's actually happening now. So resist the pull of quick, flashy progress. Stop, settle, and let your strength gather in quiet. A fire that's banked can last; one that flares up too fast is gone before it's useful.
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 30 The Flame
A quick rise, unless your inner strength and steadiness feed it, will be short-lived.
Suddenly, so it comes: blazing, dying, cast away.
- Line 1 of 30 The Flame
Right now it's important to stay calm and focused on your projects, without getting swept up in the noise around you.
Footsteps crossing every which way. With reverence, no fault.
- The judgment of 30 The Flame
There's clarity in what you do: your inner self guides you toward your goals. A generous attitude helps you, one that leads you to share your light, and this will increase your gains and achievements.
Constancy is favorable. Success. Raising a cow brings good fortune.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
52 Abiding → 30 The Flamelines 1 and 4
Other transformations of The Flame
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 1 and 2
- 35Advancelines 1 and 3
- 38Oppositeslines 2 and 3
- 26Great Achievementslines 2 and 4
- 27Nourishmentlines 3 and 4
- 33Leaving Behindlines 1 and 5
- 1Activitylines 2 and 5
- 25Innocencelines 3 and 5
- 37The Tribelines 4 and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 1 and 6
- 34Great Manifestationlines 2 and 6
- 51Shocklines 3 and 6
- 36Darknesslines 4 and 6
- 49Renewallines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.