Transformation · lines 1, 4, and 6

Renewal becomes Gradual Progress

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Wind over Mountain is what three moving lines make of Renewal: a tree growing slowly on a hillside. The starting judgment says success lies in taking each step at exactly the right moment. The resulting hexagram, 53 Gradual Progress, says progress will come step by step, in stages that make it lasting, and that trying to speed it up brings delays. Balanced, these two describe a renewal that unfolds in order. You don't have to shed everything at once. Let one change settle before you make the next, and trust that the sequence itself is part of what makes it hold. Watch for impatience, especially when the early steps feel small. The pace may seem slow, but each stage you complete gives the next one firmer footing. Keep climbing steadily, and the change will be stable when it's done.

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 53 Gradual Progress

    You'll make progress, and it will come step by step, gradually, through stages that make it lasting and stable. Trying to speed things up will bring delays and obstacles. Keep at it, one rung at a time.

    The woman goes to be married: good fortune. Constancy is favorable.

  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 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.

  5. 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 trigrams

Below Fire Mountain
Above Lake Wind

The way back

53 Gradual Progress → 49 Renewal
lines 1, 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.

Toss the coins