Transformation · lines 1, 4, and 5

What Lasts becomes Inaction

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Clouds rise into the sky as the first, fourth and fifth lines move: Heaven gathers below and Water above, and the forward push of What Lasts meets a pause. Weigh both judgments together. Where What Lasts urges movement with purpose, the resulting hexagram, 5 Inaction, says it's time to wait, not act, though waiting isn't idleness. It's a good moment to prepare for the active period ahead, to see conditions honestly and to stay alert for the right time. The link between them is direction. You keep your goal, but you hold the movement. Use this interval to get ready: gather what you'll need, sharpen your plan, rest your energy. A calm, relaxed attitude serves you better than impatience, and when the time comes, you'll be able to move without hesitation.

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 32 What Lasts

    This moment asks you for action, not stillness. It asks you to have clear goals to head toward and to act in line with them. That way you'll achieve things, and your achievements will keep growing and will last.

    Success. No fault. Constancy is favorable. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.

  2. The judgment of 5 Inaction

    It's time to wait, not to act. Waiting doesn't mean standing still, though: it's a good time to prepare for the active period that's coming. A calm, relaxed attitude will lead you to success: look at the conditions without lying to yourself, and stay alert so you know when it's time to act. Destiny follows its own course.

    There is sincere trust. Shining success. Constancy brings good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great river.

  3. Line 1 of 32 What Lasts

    Don't expect extraordinary achievements when you're only just starting to move in the right direction.

    Digging deep into duration. Even with constancy, misfortune. Nothing is favorable.

  4. Line 4 of 32 What Lasts

    Motivation and enthusiasm aren't all you need to achieve something; you also need to find the places where those dreams can flourish.

    No game in the field.

  5. Line 5 of 32 What Lasts

    Right now your achievements will depend on your ability to be bold and open yourself to new paths.

    Making one's virtue last, with constancy. For the wife, good fortune; for the husband, misfortune.

The trigrams

Below Wind Heaven
Above Thunder Water

The way back

5 Inaction → 32 What Lasts
lines 1, 4, and 5

Other transformations of What Lasts

Make your own cast

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

Toss the coins