Transformation · lines 4 and 6
Overwhelmed becomes Release from Obstacles
What this change means
The sixth line leads and the fourth follows. The sixth says the pressure is nearly over; fear of regret may keep you hesitating in the tangle, but moving forward brings good fortune and the obstacles are easier to clear. The fourth adds that in hard times you should help others, and quickly, because slow help causes distress. Above, the Lake becomes Wind, and the image is wind moving across the water, breaking up what was frozen. The resulting hexagram, 59 Release from Obstacles, says you can free yourself if you act sincerely and bring opposing sides together around shared goals; the tension came from selfishness. So the way out runs through others. Don't save only yourself. Reach out, help promptly, set ego aside and let the current carry you instead of pushing against it. Humility now loosens what force can't.
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 47 Overwhelmed
The pressure is nearing its end, and the obstacles will be easy to overcome. If your inner strength is with you as well, success will come much more easily.
Hard pressed among creeping vines, on what totters. It is said: moving brings regret. If there is regret, setting out brings good fortune.
- 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.
- 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 59 Release from Obstacles
You can free yourself from the obstacles that hold you back if you're able to act sincerely and bring opposites together around shared goals. The tension has arisen because selfishness rules. To move forward, be humble and let the current carry you rather than going against it.
Success. The king goes to his temple. It is favorable to cross the great river. Constancy is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
59 Release from Obstacles → 47 Overwhelmedlines 4 and 6
Other transformations of Overwhelmed
- 17Adaptinglines 1 and 2
- 43Overflowinglines 1 and 3
- 31Attractionlines 2 and 3
- 60Thriftlines 1 and 4
- 8Unionlines 2 and 4
- 48Right Actionlines 3 and 4
- 54A Subordinate Rolelines 1 and 5
- 16Passionlines 2 and 5
- 32What Lastslines 3 and 5
- 7The Armylines 4 and 5
- 10Treading Carefullylines 1 and 6
- 12Declinelines 2 and 6
- 44Lack of Firmnesslines 3 and 6
- 64Transitionlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.