What this change means
Earth upon earth replaces fire over the lake when the first, second, fourth and sixth lines move: the figure becomes 2 Passivity. Its still lines lead. The third says that what you do with perseverance and without show will be appreciated and recognized. The fifth says success right now depends on reserve, since your light shines from within. The resulting hexagram itself asks you not to take the initiative, but to let others guide you and keep at your projects patiently. So in this time of opposition, step back from the front. Don't try to prove yourself or win people over. Keep working quietly, persistently, without seeking credit. Let someone else set the pace. Recognition tends to come to steady, modest work, and your quality will show without your needing to announce it.
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 2 Passivity, which stays still
What you do with perseverance and without showing off will be appreciated and recognized.
Holding its brightness within; it can stay constant. If it serves in the king's affairs, no achievement of its own, but a good end.
- 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.
- The judgment of 38 Opposites
You're in a situation of opposition: the people around you are different from you, yet you need to share with them. This means that what you can achieve for now is small. Even so, don't give in. It matters that both you and they keep your own nature and contribute from there to a shared project.
In small matters, good fortune.
- Line 1 of 38 Opposites
Don't try to join with anyone by force; it's important to recognize differences, however large. Even if someone close to you pulls away for a while, let them go: they'll come back on their own.
Regret vanishes. The horse is lost: do not chase it; it comes back by itself. Seeing wicked people: no fault.
- Line 2 of 38 Opposites
You can reach agreements with people like you whom you're not in touch with, using skillful means to bring those meetings about.
Meets their lord in a back lane. No fault.
- Line 4 of 38 Opposites
Keeping to yourself in this time of opposition will help you find people who are truly like you and achieve success.
Alone in opposition, meets a worthy man; they trust each other. Danger. No fault.
- Line 6 of 38 Opposites
Isolation leads you into a moment of confusion where you don't recognize friends or allies; you're even about to attack them. But little by little the confusion clears, and joining with like-minded people will bring you success.
Alone in opposition: sees a pig covered in mud, a cart loaded with ghosts. First the bow is drawn; then it is set down. Not a raider: a wedding party. If on the way the rain comes, good fortune.
- 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
The way back
2 Passivity → 38 Oppositeslines 1, 2, 4, and 6
Other transformations of Opposites
- 52Abidinglines 1, 2, 3, and 4
- 33Leaving Behindlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 20Observinglines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 57Gentlenesslines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 37The Tribelines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 46Going Uplines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 36Darknesslines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 45Meetinglines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 28Excesseslines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 49Renewallines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 29Waterlines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 5Inactionlines 3, 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.