Transformation · lines 4 and 5

Renewal becomes Darkness

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

The fourth and fifth lines move, and the Lake above becomes Earth, with the Fire now sunk beneath it: light gone underground. The fifth line leads, speaking of renewal that comes naturally, guided by a higher will. The fourth adds that well-timed changes succeed when they rest on inner certainty and care for others. Both are strong lines, yet the resulting hexagram, 36 Darkness, describes a hard time in which you may have to live alongside the wrong people. The way through is to protect yourself, keep your integrity, and go unnoticed, without showing your light openly. So the change you sense is real, and it can proceed, but quietly. Keep your convictions intact and your talents out of plain view for now. Hard times pass, and the renewal you're carrying inside will still be there when the light can come back out.

What to read, in order

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

  1. Line 5 of 49 Renewal

    Renewal will come naturally, guided by a higher will that shows you the way to act.

    The great person changes like the tiger. Before any divining, there is sincere trust.

  2. 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.

  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 36 Darkness

    It's a dark time: circumstances force you to live alongside the wrong people. If you know how to protect yourself, hold on to your integrity, and go unnoticed, without openly showing your light and your talents, you'll stay safe until better times come. However hard they seem, hard times pass too.

    Constancy in hardship is favorable.

The trigrams

Below Fire stays
Above Lake Earth

The way back

36 Darkness → 49 Renewal
lines 4 and 5

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