What this change means
Fire takes the place of Wind below and a lake replaces the water above: three moving lines turn the well into a scene of renewal. Both judgments carry equal weight. 48 Right Action speaks of opportunities in your favor that are lost if you keep delaying, and asks you to make use of what you have. The resulting hexagram, 49 Renewal, describes shedding an old skin: opening to change and new ways, weighing what still works and what no longer does, and letting go of the second. Put together, they ask for change rooted in what's already yours. You don't need to throw everything out; the well stays where it is even when the town changes. Decide what to keep and what to release, and take each step at the right moment. Delay is the real risk here. Make room for the new by acting on it.
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 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 49 Renewal
You're in a time of renewal, like shedding a skin. Open yourself to change and to new ways of doing things. Success lies in taking each step at exactly the right moment, and in weighing what needs to change and what doesn't, what is no longer doing its job. Don't be afraid to let it go: you need to make room for the new to arrive.
When the day has come, there is trust. Great success. Constancy is favorable. Regret vanishes.
- 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 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 trigrams
The way back
49 Renewal → 48 Right Actionlines 1, 2, and 4
Other transformations of Right Action
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1, 2, and 3
- 58Inner Peacelines 1, 3, and 4
- 45Meetinglines 2, 3, and 4
- 36Darknesslines 1, 2, and 5
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1, 3, and 5
- 2Passivitylines 2, 3, and 5
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1, 4, and 5
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 2, 4, and 5
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 3, 4, and 5
- 37The Tribelines 1, 2, and 6
- 61Inner Integritylines 1, 3, and 6
- 20Observinglines 2, 3, and 6
- 1Activitylines 1, 4, and 6
- 33Leaving Behindlines 2, 4, and 6
- 6Conflictlines 3, 4, and 6
- 26Great Achievementslines 1, 5, and 6
- 52Abidinglines 2, 5, and 6
- 4Immaturitylines 3, 5, and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.