Transformation · lines 3 and 6
Clearing Obstacles becomes The Vessel of Nourishment
What this change means
Fire burns above wood as the third and top lines move, and Clearing Obstacles becomes 50 The Vessel of Nourishment. The top line leads. With your inner strength built up, a single decisive act, the archer's shot at the falcon on the wall, can clear what remains. The third line warns of the opposite posture: riding in a carriage while hauling your load invites raiders, and boasting draws envy and quarrels that threaten your gains. The difference between the two lines is how you hold your strength, quietly prepared or noisily displayed. The resulting hexagram describes change that happens naturally, like food cooking, without great upheaval. Keep your enthusiasm lit and know your resources. So let the transformation simmer. Act decisively when the moment calls for it, and otherwise keep your achievements out of sight, where envy can't reach them.
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 40 Clearing Obstacles
Once you've strengthened your inner self, you can get through the obstacles and achieve your purpose with firm, decisive action.
The duke shoots at a falcon on top of the high wall and hits it. Nothing that is not favorable.
- Line 3 of 40 Clearing Obstacles
If you act high-handed and boast about your achievements, exaggerating them, you'll draw quarrels and envy that threaten to take away what you've gained.
Carries a load on the back and rides in a carriage: this brings raiders. Constancy brings distress.
- The judgment of 40 Clearing Obstacles
The obstacles have been overcome one by one. You're in a time when balance matters: act quickly and decisively as far as you can, without overrating your abilities. If you feel you need a rest, or even to step back before going on, do it.
The southwest is favorable. With nowhere to go, coming back brings good fortune. With somewhere to go, going early brings good fortune.
- The judgment of 50 The Vessel of Nourishment
It's a time of change and adjustment, and it will happen naturally, without great upheaval, the way food cooks. Keep the flame lit: it's the enthusiasm that gives you the strength to keep going. And be clear about the resources you have, the way a cook chooses the ingredients. The change will come about little by little.
Great good fortune. Success.
The trigrams
The way back
50 The Vessel of Nourishment → 40 Clearing Obstacleslines 3 and 6
Other transformations of Clearing Obstacles
- 51Shocklines 1 and 2
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1 and 3
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 2 and 3
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1 and 4
- 2Passivitylines 2 and 4
- 46Going Uplines 3 and 4
- 58Inner Peacelines 1 and 5
- 45Meetinglines 2 and 5
- 28Excesseslines 3 and 5
- 29Waterlines 4 and 5
- 38Oppositeslines 1 and 6
- 35Advancelines 2 and 6
- 4Immaturitylines 4 and 6
- 6Conflictlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.