Transformation · lines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Gradual Progress becomes Opposites
What this change means
Everything shifts except the top line, and Fire now stands above Lake. The top line of 38 Opposites holds the counsel: isolation can lead to confusion where you fail to recognize your allies and even turn against them, but the confusion clears little by little, and joining with like-minded people brings success. When nearly the whole figure turns over like this, the warning is about suspicion. Being cut off, or surrounded by people unlike you, may make you see enemies where there are friends. Don't strike first. Wait for the fog to lift, look again at the people around you, and reconnect with those who share your aims. You can keep your own nature while working alongside others. The progress resumes once you stop treating every difference as a threat and let trust return slowly.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 6 of 38 Opposites, which stays still
Isolation leads you into a moment of confusion where you don't recognize friends or allies; you're even about to attack them. But little by little the confusion clears, and joining with like-minded people will bring you success.
Alone in opposition: sees a pig covered in mud, a cart loaded with ghosts. First the bow is drawn; then it is set down. Not a raider: a wedding party. If on the way the rain comes, good fortune.
- 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.
- Line 1 of 53 Gradual Progress
Your first steps may be slow, and through lack of experience it may look at first as if you'll fail, so people will talk. Nothing to fear.
The wild goose moves by degrees to the shore. The young one is in danger; there is talk. No fault.
- Line 2 of 53 Gradual Progress
You'll have a first success as you move forward. Nothing spectacular, but it will let you rest and recharge to keep going.
The wild goose moves by degrees to the boulder. It eats and drinks with joy. Good fortune.
- Line 3 of 53 Gradual Progress
If you don't let things unfold at their own pace and try to hurry them, your progress will fail.
The wild goose moves by degrees to the high plain. The husband marches off and does not return; the wife conceives and does not give birth. Misfortune. It is favorable to fend off raiders.
- Line 4 of 53 Gradual Progress
In the middle of your progress, situations come up that are out of your control. Don't despair: act with caution and respond wisely to these obstacles. That way you'll stay safe while conditions improve.
The wild goose moves by degrees to the tree. Perhaps it finds a flat branch. No fault.
- Line 5 of 53 Gradual Progress
In the middle of your progress you're cut off, and hostile people stir up misunderstandings around you. All you can do is wait calmly for this to pass; it will pass on its own.
The wild goose moves by degrees to the hill. For three years the wife does not conceive; in the end nothing overcomes her. Good fortune.
- The judgment of 38 Opposites
You're in a situation of opposition: the people around you are different from you, yet you need to share with them. This means that what you can achieve for now is small. Even so, don't give in. It matters that both you and they keep your own nature and contribute from there to a shared project.
In small matters, good fortune.
The trigrams
The way back
38 Opposites → 53 Gradual Progresslines 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Other transformations of Gradual Progress
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.