What this change means
Lines three and four move, the fourth leading. The fourth asks you to rethink and refocus on the opportunities, to reinforce the well and put your talents to work. The third shows the danger of not doing it: a clean well no one drinks from, gifts left unused while chances drift past. Below, Wind becomes Water; above, Water becomes Lake, and the water drains out from under the lake. The resulting hexagram, 47 Overwhelmed, describes a time of being hemmed in and not believed, with only your inner light to lean on. That's the warning in this movement: opportunities ignored can turn into pressure. If you accept what's happening and hold to your inner strength, you'll get through. But it helps to act now, while you still can. Use your talents, refocus, and don't let a full well dry up through neglect.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 trigrams
The way back
47 Overwhelmed → 48 Right Actionlines 3 and 4
Other transformations of Right Action
- 63After the Endlines 1 and 2
- 60Thriftlines 1 and 3
- 8Unionlines 2 and 3
- 43Overflowinglines 1 and 4
- 31Attractionlines 2 and 4
- 11Well-Beinglines 1 and 5
- 15Simplicitylines 2 and 5
- 7The Armylines 3 and 5
- 32What Lastslines 4 and 5
- 9Small Thingslines 1 and 6
- 53Gradual Progresslines 2 and 6
- 59Release from Obstacleslines 3 and 6
- 44Lack of Firmnesslines 4 and 6
- 18Loss, Then Gainlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.