Transformation · lines 2, 4, and 5

What Lasts becomes Held Back

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Water on the mountain: the second, fourth and fifth lines change, and the easy movement of thunder and wind meets a steep climb. Three changing lines balance the two judgments. The first of them, What Lasts, favors action held to a chosen course. The resulting hexagram, 39 Held Back, describes a road where every advance meets a block, so you have to halt, retreat a little and seek out people who think as you do; that's how the obstacles are passed, one by one. So persistence here isn't about pushing harder. It's about not losing the thread. Each time you're stopped, regroup, turn to the people who share your aims, and try again. Progress will be uneven, but your direction can stay the same the whole way through.

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 39 Held Back

    Every time you advance, something blocks you, forcing you to stop, step back, and look for help from like-minded people who give you their support. That way you'll get past the obstacles one by one until the final victory.

    The southwest is favorable; the northeast is not. It is favorable to see the great person. Constancy brings good fortune.

  3. Line 2 of 32 What Lasts

    Right now your enthusiasm and passion are greater than outside circumstances. Staying that way will gradually overcome the stillness and move you toward success.

    Regret vanishes.

  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 Mountain
Above Thunder Water

The way back

39 Held Back → 32 What Lasts
lines 2, 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