What this change means
Water climbs onto a mountain as the third and fourth lines move, and the road ahead turns steep. The fourth line leads with a hopeful promise: putting your own interest aside to serve someone in charge tends to be rewarded. The third line shows the friction underneath. The group you'd like to enter isn't open to you, and the way in may be someone who can bring you closer. The resulting hexagram, 39 Held Back, describes a stretch where every step forward meets a block, so you have to stop, step back, and seek support from like-minded people. That's exactly what these lines ask. Instead of forcing your way into the group, put your effort into serving the common purpose and let a trusted go-between open the door. Obstacles cleared one at a time, with help, tend to lead somewhere. Don't read the slowdown as rejection; read it as the route.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 4 of 45 Meeting
When you act without selfish aims and on behalf of someone above you, you're rewarded.
Great good fortune. No fault.
- Line 3 of 45 Meeting
You're trying to meet with people who aren't willing. If you look for someone who can bring you closer to that group, you'll get help.
Gathering, sighing. Nothing is favorable. Going: no fault. Small distress.
- The judgment of 45 Meeting
A very favorable situation is coming, with everything ready for you to take the next step toward your goals. You can ask for help and meet with those who will support you. It's a time to take on important things, do some kind of spiritual practice, and prepare in case anything unexpected happens.
Success. The king comes to his temple. It is favorable to see the great person. Success. Constancy is favorable. Offering large animals brings good fortune. It is favorable to have somewhere to go.
- 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 trigrams
The way back
39 Held Back → 45 Meetinglines 3 and 4
Other transformations of Meeting
- 58Inner Peacelines 1 and 2
- 49Renewallines 1 and 3
- 28Excesseslines 2 and 3
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1 and 4
- 29Waterlines 2 and 4
- 51Shocklines 1 and 5
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2 and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 3 and 5
- 2Passivitylines 4 and 5
- 25Innocencelines 1 and 6
- 6Conflictlines 2 and 6
- 33Leaving Behindlines 3 and 6
- 20Observinglines 4 and 6
- 35Advancelines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.