What this change means
A muddy well that nobody drinks from, an old well no bird visits: that's the image of the first line, the one moving here. In practical terms, your mood has dropped, and from that low place everything looks bleak. You miss the openings in front of you and you don't attract help, not because they're absent but because discouragement hides them. As this line changes, Wind below becomes Heaven, and the figure turns into clouds rising into the sky. The resulting hexagram, 5 Inaction, says it's time to wait rather than act, yet waiting here means getting ready, calmly and honestly, for an active period that's coming. So the work isn't outward yet. Clear the mud first: lift your spirits, look at your situation without lying to yourself, and rest well. Once your outlook is clean again, the opportunities that were there all along can come back into view.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 1 of 48 Right Action
Your mood is low, so everything looks bleak to you: you don't see the opportunities and you don't draw help.
A muddy well: no one drinks. No birds come to the old well.
- The judgment of 48 Right Action
You're at a moment when opportunities are on your side. But if you don't know how to use them because you keep putting off decisions and actions, being in the right place at the right time won't do you any good. It's not about looking for new things but about making use of what you have, or there will be loss.
The town is changed, the well is not. Nothing lost, nothing gained. They come and go, and draw from the well. Nearly there, the rope does not yet reach the well; if the jar breaks, misfortune.
- The judgment of 5 Inaction
It's time to wait, not to act. Waiting doesn't mean standing still, though: it's a good time to prepare for the active period that's coming. A calm, relaxed attitude will lead you to success: look at the conditions without lying to yourself, and stay alert so you know when it's time to act. Destiny follows its own course.
There is sincere trust. Shining success. Constancy brings good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great river.
The trigrams
The way back
5 Inaction → 48 Right Actionline 1
Other transformations of Right Action
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.