What this change means
The third and fifth lines move, Water forming below and Mountain above, like a spring breaking out at the foot of a hill. The fifth line leads: it's time to change your course, but reflect before you set out, and act only once you know what you want. The third line warns what happens otherwise, endless deliberation that never becomes a decision and only delays success. The resulting hexagram, 4 Immaturity, adds a note of humility. You may not yet have the maturity this area of your question requires. So ask for guidance, seek advice and counsel, and put into practice what you're told. Reflection here means learning, not circling. Gather wisdom from people who know more, decide what you want, and then step onto the new path instead of standing at its entrance.
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 57 Gentleness
It's time to change course. Reflect before you set out; once you know what you want, taking action will make your success certain.
Constancy brings good fortune. Regret vanishes. Nothing that is not favorable. No beginning, yet an end. Three days before the geng day, three days after the geng day: good fortune.
- Line 3 of 57 Gentleness
Thinking about what to do without making up your mind to do what needs doing will only delay your success.
Yielding again and again. Distress.
- The judgment of 57 Gentleness
It's a time when you'll gain and succeed through gentleness. This isn't the time for big actions, or for using pressure or force. It's a time to choose a path and stay on it steadily. Even if you don't see much progress, success will show itself through the build-up of small actions and through seeking the support of those above you.
Small success. It is favorable to have somewhere to go. It is favorable to see the great person.
- 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.
The trigrams
The way back
4 Immaturity → 57 Gentlenesslines 3 and 5
Other transformations of Gentleness
- 37The Tribelines 1 and 2
- 61Inner Integritylines 1 and 3
- 20Observinglines 2 and 3
- 1Activitylines 1 and 4
- 33Leaving Behindlines 2 and 4
- 6Conflictlines 3 and 4
- 26Great Achievementslines 1 and 5
- 52Abidinglines 2 and 5
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 4 and 5
- 5Inactionlines 1 and 6
- 39Held Backlines 2 and 6
- 29Waterlines 3 and 6
- 28Excesseslines 4 and 6
- 46Going Uplines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.