Transformation · lines 1, 5, and 6

Right Action becomes Great Achievements

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Heaven held within the mountain: the first, fifth and top lines move and great strength gathers in reserve. Both judgments weigh in evenly. From 48 Right Action comes the reminder that fortune favors you now and that postponing undoes it. The resulting hexagram, 26 Great Achievements, says it's a good moment to leave your comfort zone and attempt more than you think you can, since you have the qualities needed. Together they make a strong push. You've been sitting on resources and talents; now they can carry you past your usual limits. Take on something unusual, something that stretches you. Learn from the past, as the image suggests, and use what you've stored up. The well has been full for a while. It's time to draw deeply from it, and to trust that the rope now reaches the water.

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 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.

  2. The judgment of 26 Great Achievements

    It's a good moment to leave your comfort zone and take on new actions, beyond what you think you can do. Heaven favors unusual actions that will lead you to success, because you have the qualities needed.

    Constancy is favorable. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great river.

  3. 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.

  4. Line 5 of 48 Right Action

    You recognize the opportunities around you and feel motivated and determined to act, which will bring success.

    The well is clear: the cold spring is drunk.

  5. Line 6 of 48 Right Action

    You have all the talents and abilities to act and seize the moment, and you also want to contribute to those around you: there will be success.

    Water is drawn from the well: do not cover it. There is sincere trust. Great good fortune.

The trigrams

Below Wind Heaven
Above Water Mountain

The way back

26 Great Achievements → 48 Right Action
lines 1, 5, and 6

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.

Toss the coins