Transformation · lines 1, 2, 3, and 4

Great Manifestation becomes Passivity

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Four lines move, and every line becomes yielding, Earth below and Earth above. The reading rests on what doesn't change in 2 Passivity, its fifth and top lines. The fifth says success right now depends on acting with reserve; your light shines from within. The top line is blunter: this isn't the time to lead but to follow, and reaching for the front now could provoke a backlash that affects everyone. It's a remarkable reversal for a hexagram of great strength. All that power isn't wasted; it simply needs to go inward for a while. Let others guide, keep at your projects patiently, and don't compete for the lead. Quiet competence will be seen in time. Grabbing for position would undo more than it gains.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. Line 5 of 2 Passivity, which stays still

    Right now success depends on acting with reserve. Your light shines from within.

    A yellow skirt. Great good fortune.

  2. Line 6 of 2 Passivity, which stays still

    It's not the time to lead; it's the time to follow. Trying to take a leading position now will bring retaliation on you that affects everyone.

    Dragons fight in the open country. Their blood is dark and yellow.

  3. The judgment of 34 Great Manifestation

    You have what it takes to carry out big projects and achieve extraordinary things. Still, you need to stay active and keep persevering. Thinking and acting in harmony will keep you holding to what is right and will make your achievements last.

    Constancy is favorable.

  4. Line 1 of 34 Great Manifestation

    Despite your excellent qualities, some unfavorable situations still won't let you move forward. Don't push. Work through the obstacles one by one, and circumstances will give way in the end.

    Strength in the toes. Setting out brings misfortune. There is sincere trust.

  5. Line 2 of 34 Great Manifestation

    Circumstances are starting to open up and conditions keep getting better. Still, stay centered and keep persevering to get the results you want.

    Constancy brings good fortune.

  6. Line 3 of 34 Great Manifestation

    If you show off your power and your achievements right now, you'll draw hostile looks and bad situations your way.

    The petty person uses strength; the noble person does not. Constancy is in danger. A ram butts the fence and tangles its horns.

  7. Line 4 of 34 Great Manifestation

    Adverse circumstances give way before your persistence. If you rely on your inner power, you'll be able to move toward great achievements.

    Constancy brings good fortune. Regret vanishes. The fence gives way, and nothing tangles. Strength in the axle of the great cart.

  8. The judgment of 2 Passivity

    This is not the time to take the initiative to achieve things. It's better to let others guide you and to keep at your projects with patience.

    Great success. The constancy of a mare is favorable. The noble person has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find someone to guide them. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest and to lose them in the northeast. Calm constancy brings good fortune.

The trigrams

Below Heaven Earth
Above Thunder Earth

The way back

2 Passivity → 34 Great Manifestation
lines 1, 2, 3, and 4

Other transformations of Great Manifestation

Make your own cast

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

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