What this change means
The top line moves, and it asks for timing. Get away, in time, from whatever puts you and the people close to you in danger. Leaving now isn't flight: it takes the risk apart before it can reach you, and nothing about that is a mistake. The old image is of shedding blood and going far off: leaving the harm behind by putting distance between you and it. As this line changes, the Wind above turns to Water, and the hexagram becomes 29 Water, the pit doubled. Obstacles may come one after another. That's why stepping away matters: you can't flow past danger while standing in it. Keep moving, the way a stream does, and don't let fear freeze you in place. Distance first, then steady motion through whatever comes next.
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 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 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 29 Water
Just as a stream moves through obstacles and gets past them, following its course without stagnating, you're at a time when obstacles will come one after another, but you'll get past them if you can keep moving. Letting fear paralyze you will only leave you stuck.
There is sincere trust. Only the heart gets through. Going earns esteem.
The trigrams
The way back
29 Water → 59 Release from Obstaclesline 6
Other transformations of Release from Obstacles
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.