What this change means
A spring breaks out at the foot of the mountain when four lines move, and Held Back becomes 4 Immaturity. Its first and fourth lines don't change; listen to them. The first says help will come, but you have to apply what you're told, and to choose guides who demand a lot without being domineering. The fourth is short and pointed: dreaming without acting leads to failure. The resulting hexagram asks you to recognize that you don't yet have the maturity your goal requires, and to ask for counsel with humility. The obstacles may be showing you a gap in experience rather than bad luck. Find someone who knows the terrain, listen, and then actually do what they suggest. Plans that stay in your head won't move anything. Learn, practice, and let the guidance turn into action.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 1 of 4 Immaturity, which stays still
You'll receive help, but you have to apply what you're told. Choose guides who demand a lot of you without being domineering.
To wake the ignorant, it is favorable to use punishment and to take off the shackles. Going on this way: distress.
- Line 4 of 4 Immaturity, which stays still
Dreaming without acting leads you to failure.
Ignorance hemmed in. Distress.
- The judgment of 39 Held Back
Every time you advance, something blocks you, forcing you to stop, step back, and look for help from like-minded people who give you their support. That way you'll get past the obstacles one by one until the final victory.
The southwest is favorable; the northeast is not. It is favorable to see the great person. Constancy brings good fortune.
- Line 2 of 39 Held Back
It's time to face the difficulties, which seem to grow as you advance. Still, if your actions go hand in hand with inner integrity, you'll succeed in the end.
The king's servant, in hardship upon hardship, and not of their own doing.
- Line 3 of 39 Held Back
The right thing now is to step back from the obstacles and return to normal conditions, with the people who love you, until the time to act comes.
Going: hardship. Coming: a return.
- Line 5 of 39 Held Back
You have great conviction and clear goals, which let you keep going despite the obstacles. Your inner strength will draw help to you.
Great hardship: friends arrive.
- Line 6 of 39 Held Back
You've reached such maturity and confidence that you can face difficulties calmly and help others; in the same way, you'll receive help from those above you.
Going: hardship. Coming: greatness. Good fortune. It is favorable to see the great person.
- The judgment of 4 Immaturity
Be aware that you don't yet have the maturity you need to reach what you're after in the area of your question. Act with humility: ask for guidance, seek advice and counsel, and put what you're told into practice.
Success. I do not go looking for the ignorant youth; the ignorant youth comes looking for me. The first time the oracle is asked, I answer. A second and a third asking is an offense, and an offense gets no answer. Constancy is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
4 Immaturity → 39 Held Backlines 2, 3, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Held Back
- 58Inner Peacelines 1, 2, 3, and 4
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 51Shocklines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 61Inner Integritylines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 1Activitylines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 25Innocencelines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 6Conflictlines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 26Great Achievementslines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 27Nourishmentlines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 30The Flamelines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 35Advancelines 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.