Transformation · lines 1, 2, and 3

Renewal becomes Overwhelmed

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

All three lines of the lower trigram move, and the Fire under the Lake turns to Water: a lake with its water draining away. The starting hexagram promises trust once the day has arrived, and ties success to good timing and to releasing whatever has stopped serving. The resulting hexagram, 47 Overwhelmed, describes a much harder ground. The wrong people may surround you, your words may not be believed, and obstacles hem you in. Held in balance, these two say that the change you want may have to pass through a narrow stretch where outside support is thin. Don't fight that by pushing harder. Accept it, wait for better conditions, and lean on your own inner light, which is the one resource that doesn't run out. The renewal still matters; for now it happens inside before it can show outside.

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 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Line 1 of 49 Renewal

    Don't rush into changes. Wait until conditions are favorable and you're clear about what you want to renew.

    Bound fast with the hide of a yellow ox.

  4. Line 2 of 49 Renewal

    When you've tried several things to solve something and nothing works, it's time for radical change.

    When the day has come, the change is made. Setting out brings good fortune. No fault.

  5. Line 3 of 49 Renewal

    Neither dragging things out nor acting in too much of a hurry is the right way to go about it now. Ask for signs, so you act at the right moment.

    Setting out brings misfortune. Constancy is in danger. When word of the change has come round three times, there is sincere trust.

The trigrams

Below Fire Water
Above Lake stays

The way back

47 Overwhelmed → 49 Renewal
lines 1, 2, and 3

Other transformations of Renewal

Make your own cast

The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.

Toss the coins