Transformation · lines 3 and 4

Renewal becomes Initial Obstacles

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Lines three and four are moving, and Fire and Lake give way to Thunder below and Water above: a storm at the start of something. The fourth line leads. It says well-timed change brings success when you rest on inner certainty and when your aims include others' well-being. The third line asks for care in the timing, neither rushing nor stalling, and for signs before you act. The resulting hexagram, 3 Initial Obstacles, tells you why: beginnings now are hard, and acting directly isn't the way. Look for allies who can represent you and carry part of the work, and stay alert so you know when to take the initiative back. So the change is right, but its first stretch is rough. Build your support, keep your motives clear, and wait for the moment when you can step forward yourself.

What to read, in order

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. The judgment of 3 Initial Obstacles

    This isn't the time to act directly: look for people who can act for you, allies who represent you. Still, stay alert so you know when the time comes to take back the initiative and control.

    Great success. Constancy is favorable. Having somewhere to go is of no use yet. It is favorable to install lords.

The trigrams

Below Fire Thunder
Above Lake Water

The way back

3 Initial Obstacles → 49 Renewal
lines 3 and 4

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