Transformation · lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6
Renewal becomes Release from Obstacles
What this change means
Only the fifth line holds still, and the figure becomes Wind over Water, a breeze breaking up the ice on a stream. That fifth line of the resulting hexagram, 59 Release from Obstacles, the only one at rest, holds the message: when division runs deep and selfishness is everywhere, make unity your aim, even if it means giving ground beyond what seems fair. The renewal you began has landed you in a scattered situation, where people pull in their own directions. Your task is to bring them back together around shared goals. That calls for sincerity and humility, and for going with the current instead of against it. Don't insist on being right at every point. Giving ground where you can is what lets the tension ease and lets you move forward.
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 59 Release from Obstacles, which stays still
In times of deep division and widespread selfishness, make unity your aim, even if it means yielding more than you think you should.
Scatters its great proclamation like sweat. Scatters the dwelling of the king. No fault.
- 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.
- Line 6 of 49 Renewal
Take stock of the changes you can actually make now, given the circumstances. A change that's too ambitious has to wait for a better time.
The noble person changes like the leopard; the petty person changes face. Setting out brings misfortune. Abiding in constancy brings good fortune.
- 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
The way back
59 Release from Obstacles → 49 Renewallines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6
Other transformations of Renewal
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.