Transformation · lines 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Opposites becomes Right Action
What this change means
Water drawn from deep below appears as five lines move, all except the second, and the figure becomes 48 Right Action. The second line, still, leads. It says you have what it takes, but you've let yourself go soft and stopped demanding effort of yourself, which makes it hard to hold on to what you achieve. The resulting hexagram itself says opportunities are on your side, but they're no use if you keep postponing decisions; it's about using what you have, not searching for something new. So the opposition may partly be a symptom of drifting. Wake up. You already have what you need. Get back to the discipline that served you. Decide, act, and follow through. Don't wait for the perfect conditions. Use what's at hand, and keep it in use.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 2 of 48 Right Action, which stays still
You have good qualities for success, but you've grown slack and stopped pushing yourself; this makes it hard to hold on to what you achieve.
Down in the well, shooting at minnows. The jar is broken and leaks.
- 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 3 of 38 Opposites
Even if conditions turn against you and you're even attacked, staying true to yourself and to those you admire will lead you to success.
Sees the cart dragged back, the ox held fast; the driver, branded on the forehead, nose cut off. No beginning, but an end.
- 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 5 of 38 Opposites
In the midst of opposites you'll find someone loyal whom you won't recognize at first, but they'll come to you and support you.
Regret vanishes. Their clan bites into tender flesh. Going: what fault could there be?
- 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 48 Right Action
You're at a moment when opportunities are on your side. But if you don't know how to use them because you keep putting off decisions and actions, being in the right place at the right time won't do you any good. It's not about looking for new things but about making use of what you have, or there will be loss.
The town is changed, the well is not. Nothing lost, nothing gained. They come and go, and draw from the well. Nearly there, the rope does not yet reach the well; if the jar breaks, misfortune.
The trigrams
The way back
48 Right Action → 38 Oppositeslines 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Opposites
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.