What this change means
Four lines move, and both trigrams become Water: obstacle after obstacle, a stream running through a gorge. With this much in motion, the message passes to what stays still in 29 Water, the resulting hexagram. Its fifth line says you can get clear of the difficulties if you take the path of least resistance and move toward your goal step by step. Its top line warns that trying to escape the wrong way, or siding with the wrong people, only tangles you further. So the change you set out to make has led into a run of difficulties, and the way through is to keep moving like water does: steadily, without freezing in fear and without thrashing. Pick the simplest route, keep your company sound, and take one stretch at a time. Renewal still happens here, but by flowing around obstacles rather than charging them.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 5 of 29 Water, which stays still
You'll get out of the obstacles now if you follow the path of least resistance and, step by step, head toward your goal.
The pit does not overflow; it fills just to the level. No fault.
- Line 6 of 29 Water, which stays still
Trying to escape the obstacles, you get more tangled if you keep doing things the wrong way and side with the wrong people.
Bound with braided cords, set among thorn thickets; three years and no way out. 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Line 4 of 49 Renewal
Making the right changes at the right time will bring you success, as long as you rest on an inner certainty and your motives seek not only your own good but the well-being of others too.
Regret vanishes. There is sincere trust: the mandate is changed. Good fortune.
- The judgment of 29 Water
Just as a stream moves through obstacles and gets past them, following its course without stagnating, you're at a time when obstacles will come one after another, but you'll get past them if you can keep moving. Letting fear paralyze you will only leave you stuck.
There is sincere trust. Only the heart gets through. Going earns esteem.
The trigrams
The way back
29 Water → 49 Renewallines 1, 2, 3, and 4
Other transformations of Renewal
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 1, 2, 3, and 5
- 46Going Uplines 1, 2, 4, and 5
- 2Passivitylines 1, 3, 4, and 5
- 19Fleeting Successlines 2, 3, 4, and 5
- 6Conflictlines 1, 2, 3, and 6
- 57Gentlenesslines 1, 2, 4, and 6
- 20Observinglines 1, 3, 4, and 6
- 61Inner Integritylines 2, 3, 4, and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 1, 2, 5, and 6
- 35Advancelines 1, 3, 5, and 6
- 38Oppositeslines 2, 3, 5, and 6
- 52Abidinglines 1, 4, 5, and 6
- 26Great Achievementslines 2, 4, 5, and 6
- 27Nourishmentlines 3, 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.