What this change means
Mountain joined to mountain: the fifth and top lines move, the water above hardens into a second peak, and Held Back becomes 52 Abiding. The top line leads, describing a maturity and calm that let you face difficulty, help others, and receive help from above. The fifth line adds great hardship met with conviction, an inner strength that brings friends. These two upper lines describe someone who has weathered the storm and become steady. The resulting hexagram asks for stillness: stay centered and wait, calm and confident, until outer conditions show it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's actually happening. That fits the strength the lines describe. You don't need to prove anything or push further now. Hold your ground, let help arrive, and let your stillness be a choice, not a stall. Moving will come when the signs are clear.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
52 Abiding → 39 Held Backlines 5 and 6
Other transformations of Held Back
- 5Inactionlines 1 and 2
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1 and 3
- 29Waterlines 2 and 3
- 49Renewallines 1 and 4
- 28Excesseslines 2 and 4
- 45Meetinglines 3 and 4
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 5
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 5
- 2Passivitylines 3 and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 4 and 5
- 37The Tribelines 1 and 6
- 57Gentlenesslines 2 and 6
- 20Observinglines 3 and 6
- 33Leaving Behindlines 4 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.