Transformation · lines 3 and 6

Right Action becomes Release from Obstacles

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Leading this change is the top line, with the third beneath it. The top line describes a well open and shared, sincere trust, and talents ready to serve those around you, with great good fortune. The third describes the clean well no one drinks from, gifts left unused and chances let go. Below, Wind becomes Water; above, Water becomes Wind, so wind now moves over the water, scattering what was stuck. The resulting hexagram, 59 Release from Obstacles, says you can free yourself from what holds you back by acting sincerely and bringing opposites together around shared goals, setting selfishness aside. So the release comes through generosity. Stop keeping your talents to yourself, offer them where they're needed, and help people with different views find common ground. Be humble and go with the current. What blocked the well tends to dissolve once its water flows outward.

What to read, in order

Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. The judgment of 59 Release from Obstacles

    You can free yourself from the obstacles that hold you back if you're able to act sincerely and bring opposites together around shared goals. The tension has arisen because selfishness rules. To move forward, be humble and let the current carry you rather than going against it.

    Success. The king goes to his temple. It is favorable to cross the great river. Constancy is favorable.

The trigrams

Below Wind Water
Above Water Wind

The way back

59 Release from Obstacles → 48 Right Action
lines 3 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