What this change means
Water above water: the fourth and fifth lines move, the thunder turns to rain, and Clearing Obstacles becomes 29 Water. The fifth line leads, asking you to break away from the wrong people by giving them no attention, building your inner strength in the meantime. The fourth line asks you to release untrustworthy ties so you can move freely and let a true friend arrive. Both lines are about getting loose from what binds you. The resulting hexagram says obstacles will come one after another for a while, and that you get past them the way a stream does, by keeping on moving. Fear that freezes you is the real danger. So the freedom these lines describe has a purpose: it keeps you light enough to flow. Cut the bad ties, stop feeding attention to the wrong people, and keep moving through each difficulty in turn.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 5 of 40 Clearing Obstacles
It's time for decisive action that keeps you away from the wrong people and situations. You do this by ignoring them and paying them no attention while you build up your inner strength.
The noble person need only get free: good fortune. There is sincere trust, even before the petty person.
- Line 4 of 40 Clearing Obstacles
It's important to let go of ties and loyalties that can't be trusted and that, if anything, will slow your progress, so you can move forward freely.
Untie your big toe: the friend arrives, and then there is trust.
- 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 29 Water
Just as a stream moves through obstacles and gets past them, following its course without stagnating, you're at a time when obstacles will come one after another, but you'll get past them if you can keep moving. Letting fear paralyze you will only leave you stuck.
There is sincere trust. Only the heart gets through. Going earns esteem.
The trigrams
The way back
29 Water → 40 Clearing Obstacleslines 4 and 5
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
- 38Oppositeslines 1 and 6
- 35Advancelines 2 and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 3 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.