Transformation · lines 4, 5, and 6

The Flame becomes After the End

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Water above fire: the upper three lines move, and the flame now sits beneath water, a balance that holds only for a while. Fire's message is that you can see what you're doing, that something inside steers you well, and that giving your light away only multiplies it. The resulting hexagram, 63 After the End, says you may have a passing success, with everything seeming to go your way, followed by a period of stagnation; preparing for it ahead of time softens its effects. Balanced together, they ask you to use your clarity to look ahead. Enjoy what's going well, but don't assume it will stay this way. Watch for the complacency that comes with success. Think of trouble before it arrives, as the image says, and guard against it.

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 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.

  2. The judgment of 63 After the End

    You're in a situation where you'll have a passing success: everything seems to be in your favor, and at the end comes a period of stagnation. If you prepare for it ahead of time, you'll be able to soften its effects.

    Success in small things. Constancy is favorable. At first, good fortune; in the end, disorder.

  3. 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.

  4. Line 5 of 30 The Flame

    After a rise, expect a decline. If you stand firm and understand that this is life's natural rhythm, you'll recover.

    Tears pouring down in streams, sighs of sorrow. Good fortune.

  5. Line 6 of 30 The Flame

    If you recognize the mistakes in what you've done and make the corrections needed, you'll succeed.

    The king sets out on campaign. There is merit: the chief's head is cut off, and the captives are not the chief's own people. No fault.

The trigrams

Below Fire stays
Above Fire Water

The way back

63 After the End → 30 The Flame
lines 4, 5, and 6

Other transformations of The Flame

Make your own cast

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

Toss the coins