What this change means
Heaven appears above the mountain as the fourth and fifth lines move. The fifth line leads: hold your tongue as well as your body, because careless talk could expose you; words in order make regret vanish. The fourth line adds a calm trust that reaches through your whole body: what you can't handle will be handled. The resulting hexagram, 33 Leaving Behind, says that stepping back now isn't a bad thing. It helps you regain strength and think clearly, and what looks like a loss can turn into a gain if you let go of what doesn't serve you. So withdraw quietly. Don't explain or argue your way out; leave with few words, trust the process, and keep a calm distance from what's harmful. A quiet exit leaves fewer threads to untangle later.
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 52 Abiding
You need not only to stay still and calm but also to keep quiet, because careless words could put you at risk.
Still the jaws; words come in order. Regret vanishes.
- Line 4 of 52 Abiding
You're able to stay calm and trust that the universe will take care of things.
Still the trunk. No fault.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
- The judgment of 33 Leaving Behind
Leaving a path behind or stepping back right now isn't a bad thing. On the contrary, it will help you recover your strength and think carefully about the situation and how to set it right. Sometimes what looks like a loss turns into a gain, if you can let go of what isn't good for you and then pick up again in the right direction.
Success. In small things, constancy is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
33 Leaving Behind → 52 Abidinglines 4 and 5
Other transformations of Abiding
- 26Great Achievementslines 1 and 2
- 27Nourishmentlines 1 and 3
- 4Immaturitylines 2 and 3
- 30The Flamelines 1 and 4
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 2 and 4
- 35Advancelines 3 and 4
- 37The Tribelines 1 and 5
- 57Gentlenesslines 2 and 5
- 20Observinglines 3 and 5
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 6
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 6
- 2Passivitylines 3 and 6
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 4 and 6
- 39Held Backlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.