What this change means
Earth below and earth above: as lines two, four and five move, all the strength in the middle of the figure softens into open ground. Both judgments count the same. 47 Overwhelmed asks you to accept that things are against you and to wait, relying on your inner light. The resulting hexagram, 2 Passivity, says this isn't the time to take the initiative; it's better to let others guide you and keep at your projects patiently. Read together, they describe a deep kind of yielding. Under pressure, the urge is to fight your way out, but this movement points the other way. Receive, follow good guidance, and carry what you have with the depth of your character, the way the earth bears everything on it. This isn't defeat. It's a way of staying whole until the time to act arrives, and of letting support reach you.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- The judgment of 47 Overwhelmed
Things are very much against you: the wrong people surround you, no one believes what you say, and obstacles hem you in. All you can do is accept it and wait for better conditions to come. Your only resource is the inner light that lives in you; turn to that strength to hold you up right now.
Success. For the great person, constancy brings good fortune. No fault. They speak and are not believed.
- The judgment of 2 Passivity
This is not the time to take the initiative to achieve things. It's better to let others guide you and to keep at your projects with patience.
Great success. The constancy of a mare is favorable. The noble person has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find someone to guide them. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest and to lose them in the northeast. Calm constancy brings good fortune.
- Line 2 of 47 Overwhelmed
The troubles right now are on the inside; on the outside, everything is fine. You need to recognize where the problem lies to solve it, and it's wise to seek help.
Hard pressed with wine and food. The red sash arrives. It is favorable to make sacrifices. Setting out brings misfortune. No fault.
- Line 4 of 47 Overwhelmed
Helping others in times of hardship matters, but that help has to be quick to do its job.
Comes slowly, slowly, hard pressed in a metal carriage. Distress, but there is an end.
- Line 5 of 47 Overwhelmed
Little by little things will improve, thanks to your habit of helping others. Spiritual resources will be a great help now.
Nose cut off, feet cut off. Hard pressed by the red sash. Little by little relief comes. It is favorable to make sacrifices.
The trigrams
The way back
2 Passivity → 47 Overwhelmedlines 2, 4, and 5
Other transformations of Overwhelmed
- 49Renewallines 1, 2, and 3
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1, 2, and 4
- 5Inactionlines 1, 3, and 4
- 39Held Backlines 2, 3, and 4
- 51Shocklines 1, 2, and 5
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1, 3, and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 2, 3, and 5
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1, 4, and 5
- 46Going Uplines 3, 4, and 5
- 25Innocencelines 1, 2, and 6
- 1Activitylines 1, 3, and 6
- 33Leaving Behindlines 2, 3, and 6
- 61Inner Integritylines 1, 4, and 6
- 20Observinglines 2, 4, and 6
- 57Gentlenesslines 3, 4, and 6
- 38Oppositeslines 1, 5, and 6
- 35Advancelines 2, 5, and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 3, 5, and 6
- 4Immaturitylines 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.