Transformation · line 4
A Subordinate Role becomes Fleeting Success
What this change means
The fourth line moves alone, and the Thunder above becomes Earth over the Lake. This is the line of the young woman who lets her wedding date slip by; a late marriage, the old text says, has its hour. The practical meaning is reassuring: if you can wait, you can get what you want, and get it well. The resulting hexagram, 19 Fleeting Success, shows that a good period is coming. It's a good spell that is limited in time, so the waiting has a purpose: when the moment arrives, use it fully, and watch the signs so you can prepare before conditions turn. Don't grab at a lesser offer out of impatience. Wait for the right one, then make the most of it, taking precautions that can soften the change that follows.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 4 of 54 A Subordinate Role
If you know how to wait, you'll get what you want, and get it perfectly.
The young woman lets the time for her wedding pass. A late marriage has its hour.
- The judgment of 54 A Subordinate Role
You're in a situation where you have to take second place to others; any personal initiative will lead to failure. Recognizing the moment and acting in keeping with it is all you can do until things change and you're in a better position.
Setting out brings misfortune. Nothing is favorable.
- The judgment of 19 Fleeting Success
A period of luck, fortune and well-being is coming. Make the most of it, because it will last only eight months; after that, conditions will change. If you can pay attention, read the signs and take care and precautions before the decline arrives, you won't avoid it, but you will lessen its effects while circumstances change.
Great success. Constancy is favorable. When the eighth month comes, misfortune.
The trigrams
The way back
19 Fleeting Success → 54 A Subordinate Roleline 4
Other transformations of A Subordinate Role
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.