What this change means
Four lines change, and thunder now stirs beneath the lake. The two lines of the resulting hexagram that stay still, the fifth and the top, carry the guidance. The fifth says that when a larger purpose drives you, a dream that inspires you, you tend to reach what you want. The top line says you can win followers and support, with even powerful people backing and recognizing you. So 48 Right Action, with its unused opportunities, opens onto 17 Adapting, a time both to lead and to follow, acting genuinely from the place life asks you to take. What was missing in the well was motivation; this change supplies it. Find the purpose that lights you up, and act from it. When people see you moving with conviction, support tends to follow. Rest when the day ends, as the image says, and begin again with purpose.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 5 of 17 Adapting, which stays still
If a larger purpose drives you, a dream that inspires you, you'll get what you want.
Trust in what is good. Good fortune.
- Line 6 of 17 Adapting, which stays still
You can win followers and support; even the most powerful people back you and recognize you.
Seized and bound, then tied fast still more. The king makes his offering on the western mountain.
- 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.
- 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.
- Line 2 of 48 Right Action
You have good qualities for success, but you've grown slack and stopped pushing yourself; this makes it hard to hold on to what you achieve.
Down in the well, shooting at minnows. The jar is broken and leaks.
- Line 3 of 48 Right Action
You aren't using all your talents, and you have many, so the opportunities are there but you don't take them.
The well is cleaned, and no one drinks: my heart aches. Water could be drawn. If the king were clear-sighted, all would share in the blessing.
- Line 4 of 48 Right Action
It's time to rethink and focus on the opportunities. If you focus on action and use your talents, you'll succeed.
The well is lined with brick. No fault.
- The judgment of 17 Adapting
It's a time both to lead and to follow. If you can see the place life is asking you to take right now, and act genuinely from wherever you belong, you'll gain more leadership and more support for what you do.
Great success. Constancy is favorable. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
17 Adapting → 48 Right Actionlines 1, 2, 3, and 4
Other transformations of Right Action
- 24Coming Backlines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 55Abundancelines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 54A Subordinate Rolelines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 16Passionlines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 42Increaselines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 13Gathering with Equalslines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 10Treading Carefullylines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 12Declinelines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 22Good Mannerslines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 41Decreaselines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 23The Falllines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 14Wealthlines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 56The Travelerlines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 64Transitionlines 3, 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.