Transformation · lines 3, 4, and 5

Overwhelmed becomes Going Up

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

The third, fourth and fifth lines move, and the figure becomes wind under earth: a tree growing up from inside the ground. Both judgments share the weight here. 47 Overwhelmed describes being hemmed in, not believed, with your inner light as your one resource while conditions stay against you. The resulting hexagram, 46 Going Up, describes a rise that's the fruit of dedicated work, and encourages you to seek the help of an important person without fear, since things are favorable. The connection is growth from below. The pressure you've lived through hasn't been wasted; it has been rooting you. Now the climb can start, one small piece at a time, the way the image of the resulting hexagram describes. Don't hold back out of old habits of caution. Ask for the meeting, show the work you've done, and keep building steadily.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. 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.

  2. The judgment of 46 Going Up

    You're in a time of rising, and this rise is the fruit of work you've done with dedication. Seeking the help of an important person will bring great success; don't be afraid of that meeting, because everything is favorable now.

    Great success. Seeing the great person is of use. Do not worry. Setting out southward brings good fortune.

  3. Line 3 of 47 Overwhelmed

    Facing obstacles with weakness and complaints won't move you forward; on the contrary, it will sink you deeper.

    Hard pressed by stone, leaning on thorns. Enters the house and does not see the wife. Misfortune.

  4. 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.

  5. 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

Below Water Wind
Above Lake Earth

The way back

46 Going Up → 47 Overwhelmed
lines 3, 4, and 5

Other transformations of Overwhelmed

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Toss the coins