Transformation · lines 2, 3, and 5

Gradual Progress becomes Immaturity

Starting hexagram
Resulting hexagram

What this change means

Water springs up under the Mountain as the second, third and fifth lines change, and both judgments speak in balance. Gradual Progress says the path is made of stages, and skipping them causes delays. 4 Immaturity adds a frank observation: you may not yet have the maturity you need for what you're after. The answer is humility. Ask for guidance, look for counsel, and actually put into practice what you're told. These two texts reinforce each other. Impatience is often a sign that you think you know more than you do. If you accept that you're still learning, the slow pace stops feeling like a punishment and becomes a school. Let someone more experienced show you the next step, take it carefully, and keep growing. The progress will be more solid for it.

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 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.

  2. The judgment of 4 Immaturity

    Be aware that you don't yet have the maturity you need to reach what you're after in the area of your question. Act with humility: ask for guidance, seek advice and counsel, and put what you're told into practice.

    Success. I do not go looking for the ignorant youth; the ignorant youth comes looking for me. The first time the oracle is asked, I answer. A second and a third asking is an offense, and an offense gets no answer. Constancy is favorable.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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 trigrams

Below Mountain Water
Above Wind Mountain

The way back

4 Immaturity → 53 Gradual Progress
lines 2, 3, 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.

Toss the coins