What this change means
Water rising over wood, the image of a well, replaces water held above a lake. Two lines move, the first and the third, and the third leads. It warns that when you can't hold back or set limits, you bring trouble on yourself; once you recognize it and act, you can get past the obstacles. The first line backs it up: watch for the signs that tell you when to stop. Both lines are about restraint, one lost and one kept. The resulting hexagram is 48 Right Action, and it shifts the focus from cutting back to using well. Opportunities are on your side, but putting off decisions wastes them. Don't hunt for something new; make good use of what you already have. Measure, in this case, means drawing from the well wisely, neither letting it overflow nor leaving it untouched.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 3 of 60 Thrift
When you can't hold yourself back and set limits, you bring on trouble. If you recognize it and do something about it, you'll get past the obstacles.
One without measure will sigh afterward. No fault.
- Line 1 of 60 Thrift
Watch for the signs that tell you when it's time to stop.
Does not leave the courtyard inside the door. No fault.
- The judgment of 60 Thrift
It's a time to conserve your time, energy and resources so you're ready for what lies ahead. If you do, when challenges arrive you'll be prepared and will overcome them easily.
Success. Bitter measure cannot be kept up with constancy.
- The judgment of 48 Right Action
You're at a moment when opportunities are on your side. But if you don't know how to use them because you keep putting off decisions and actions, being in the right place at the right time won't do you any good. It's not about looking for new things but about making use of what you have, or there will be loss.
The town is changed, the well is not. Nothing lost, nothing gained. They come and go, and draw from the well. Nearly there, the rope does not yet reach the well; if the jar breaks, misfortune.
The trigrams
The way back
48 Right Action → 60 Thriftlines 1 and 3
Other transformations of Thrift
- 8Unionlines 1 and 2
- 63After the Endlines 2 and 3
- 47Overwhelmedlines 1 and 4
- 17Adaptinglines 2 and 4
- 43Overflowinglines 3 and 4
- 7The Armylines 1 and 5
- 24Coming Backlines 2 and 5
- 11Well-Beinglines 3 and 5
- 54A Subordinate Rolelines 4 and 5
- 59Release from Obstacleslines 1 and 6
- 42Increaselines 2 and 6
- 9Small Thingslines 3 and 6
- 10Treading Carefullylines 4 and 6
- 41Decreaselines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.