Transformation · lines 1 and 4
Darkness becomes Success in Small Matters
What this change means
The first and fourth lines move, and Mountain rises below while Thunder sounds above. The fourth leads. It lets you see into the heart of what's been going wrong, so you can slip out to safer ground before adversity closes in. The first adds that forcing a way forward now mostly reveals obstacles; keep to the right path and go as far as you can, no further. The resulting hexagram, 62 Success in Small Matters, sets the scale. This isn't a time for great deeds. Small achievements fit the moment, and trying to stretch beyond your present means tends to waste effort. Put together: understand, step out, and then work modestly. Watch for treating your new clarity as a license for a big move. A quiet exit and small, careful steps are wiser than a bold stand.
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 36 Darkness
You'll be allowed to see the causes of the hard situations you're facing. This will help you act quickly and withdraw to safe ground before adversity takes complete control.
It enters the left side of the belly; it reaches the heart of the wounded light and goes out through the courtyard gate.
- Line 1 of 36 Darkness
Trying to move ahead right now will only show you obstacles. Keep persevering on the right path, the one your heart moves you along, without straying from your goal and advancing as far as you can.
The wounded light, in flight, lowers its wings. The noble person is on the road: three days without eating. There is somewhere to go; the host grumbles.
- The judgment of 36 Darkness
It's a dark time: circumstances force you to live alongside the wrong people. If you know how to protect yourself, hold on to your integrity, and go unnoticed, without openly showing your light and your talents, you'll stay safe until better times come. However hard they seem, hard times pass too.
Constancy in hardship is favorable.
- The judgment of 62 Success in Small Matters
This isn't a time for great things; it's a time for small achievements. Recognizing that will help you live in step with the moment. Trying to go beyond your present means and resources will lead you astray and waste your efforts.
Success. Constancy is favorable. Small things can be done, not great ones. The flying bird leaves its call behind: it is not fitting to rise, it is fitting to descend. Great good fortune.
The trigrams
The way back
62 Success in Small Matters → 36 Darknesslines 1 and 4
Other transformations of Darkness
- 46Going Uplines 1 and 2
- 2Passivitylines 1 and 3
- 19Fleeting Successlines 2 and 3
- 34Great Manifestationlines 2 and 4
- 51Shocklines 3 and 4
- 39Held Backlines 1 and 5
- 5Inactionlines 2 and 5
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 3 and 5
- 49Renewallines 4 and 5
- 52Abidinglines 1 and 6
- 26Great Achievementslines 2 and 6
- 27Nourishmentlines 3 and 6
- 30The Flamelines 4 and 6
- 37The Tribelines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.