Transformation · lines 2, 5, and 6
Release from Obstacles becomes Passivity
What this change means
Water and wind both settle into Earth: with the second, fifth and top lines moving, the whole figure becomes yielding ground, 2 Passivity. The two judgments are weighed evenly. The starting one asks you to dissolve the tension born of selfishness through sincerity, through goals wide enough to hold opposing sides, and through a humble acceptance of the current. The resulting one says you shouldn't be the one taking the initiative now; let others show the way, and keep working on your projects with patience. They share a key word: humility. Release here doesn't come from your leading the way, but from your willingness to follow, support and carry. Let someone else set the direction for now. Your part is steadiness, reliability and a broad capacity to hold things. That quiet role can be what finally lets the scattered pieces fall back together.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- The judgment of 59 Release from Obstacles
You can free yourself from the obstacles that hold you back if you're able to act sincerely and bring opposites together around shared goals. The tension has arisen because selfishness rules. To move forward, be humble and let the current carry you rather than going against it.
Success. The king goes to his temple. It is favorable to cross the great river. Constancy is favorable.
- The judgment of 2 Passivity
This is not the time to take the initiative to achieve things. It's better to let others guide you and to keep at your projects with patience.
Great success. The constancy of a mare is favorable. The noble person has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find someone to guide them. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest and to lose them in the northeast. Calm constancy brings good fortune.
- Line 2 of 59 Release from Obstacles
Recognizing that you've isolated yourself and pulled away from shared purposes will help you get past the obstacles.
In the scattering, it runs to its support. Regret vanishes.
- Line 5 of 59 Release from Obstacles
In times of deep division and widespread selfishness, make unity your aim, even if it means yielding more than you think you should.
Scatters its great proclamation like sweat. Scatters the dwelling of the king. No fault.
- Line 6 of 59 Release from Obstacles
Get away in time from whatever puts you and your people in danger. Withdrawing now isn't running away: it's dissolving the risk before it reaches you, and there's no mistake in that.
Scatters its blood; goes away, departs far off. No fault.
The trigrams
The way back
2 Passivity → 59 Release from Obstacleslines 2, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Release from Obstacles
- 37The Tribelines 1, 2, and 3
- 25Innocencelines 1, 2, and 4
- 1Activitylines 1, 3, and 4
- 33Leaving Behindlines 2, 3, and 4
- 27Nourishmentlines 1, 2, and 5
- 26Great Achievementslines 1, 3, and 5
- 52Abidinglines 2, 3, and 5
- 38Oppositeslines 1, 4, and 5
- 35Advancelines 2, 4, and 5
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 3, 4, and 5
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1, 2, and 6
- 5Inactionlines 1, 3, and 6
- 39Held Backlines 2, 3, and 6
- 58Inner Peacelines 1, 4, and 6
- 45Meetinglines 2, 4, and 6
- 28Excesseslines 3, 4, and 6
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1, 5, and 6
- 46Going Uplines 3, 5, and 6
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 4, 5, and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.