What this change means
On the southern hunt, the great chief is taken: the third line brings a real break in the dark. As it moves, Fire below becomes Thunder, and something stirs under the Earth. A modest piece of good luck opens a way ahead. Yet the obstacles remain only partly beaten, and the line warns you not to rush or celebrate too soon. Stay alert until they're truly behind you. The resulting hexagram, 24 Coming Back, describes the return that follows adversity: help arrives and your undertakings find favor. It also reminds you to remember what led you into the dark, since repeating it could drop you there again. So take the opening, but walk through it carefully. Watch for the relief that makes you careless; constancy here has to be patient, not hurried.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 3 of 36 Darkness
A small stroke of luck lets you move forward, but the obstacles aren't overcome yet, so don't celebrate too soon. Stay alert until they're fully defeated.
The wounded light on the southern hunt: the great chief is taken. Constancy must not be hurried.
- 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 24 Coming Back
After a period of adversity and darkness, the return comes. Still, be aware of the mistakes that led you into the dark, because if you repeat them you could fall again. People will come to help you, and your undertakings and projects will be favored.
Success. Going out and coming in without harm; friends arrive, no fault. Back and forth along its way: in seven days comes the return. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
The trigrams
The way back
24 Coming Back → 36 Darknessline 3
Other transformations of Darkness
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.