Transformation · lines 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
Success in Small Matters becomes Small Things
What this change means
Wind drifts across heaven, clouds that don't yet rain, once five lines change and only the third stays still. That still line of 9 Small Things guides the reading: pushing ahead at any cost only stirs up bigger obstacles from outside. The hexagram itself describes a situation that promises success, though it isn't time yet; there are still obstacles to resolve, and for now you can take small actions while waiting for the right moment to act on a larger scale. This echoes the starting situation closely. The promise is real, but forcing it backfires. Keep doing modest things well, clear the obstacles you can, and hold the bigger move in reserve. Pushing now would only stiffen the resistance; patience lets it soften.
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 9 Small Things, which stays still
Trying to advance at any cost only brings bigger obstacles from outside.
The spokes come loose from the cart. Husband and wife glare at each other.
- The judgment of 62 Success in Small Matters
This isn't a time for great things; it's a time for small achievements. Recognizing that will help you live in step with the moment. Trying to go beyond your present means and resources will lead you astray and waste your efforts.
Success. Constancy is favorable. Small things can be done, not great ones. The flying bird leaves its call behind: it is not fitting to rise, it is fitting to descend. Great good fortune.
- Line 1 of 62 Success in Small Matters
Failing to recognize your limits and trying to go beyond what you can do right now will bring you loss.
The bird in flight: so, misfortune.
- Line 2 of 62 Success in Small Matters
Recognizing your limitations right now and focusing on small achievements will bear fruit.
Passes the grandfather and meets the grandmother; does not reach the lord and meets the minister. No fault.
- Line 4 of 62 Success in Small Matters
It's not the time to act, but it is the time to stand firm, without straying from your purposes, until the time to act arrives.
No fault. Without going beyond, it meets it. Going is dangerous: be on guard. Do not act with lasting constancy.
- Line 5 of 62 Success in Small Matters
Your humility will help you find people who will act on your behalf.
Thick clouds, yet no rain, out of our western fields. The prince shoots a corded arrow and takes what is in the cave.
- Line 6 of 62 Success in Small Matters
If you insist on chasing goals that are out of reach for now, you'll lose whatever you put into them.
Not meeting it, goes past it. The bird in flight falls into the net. Misfortune. This is called calamity and ruin.
- The judgment of 9 Small Things
You're facing a situation that promises success, but it isn't time yet. There are still obstacles on the way that you need to resolve. For now you can take small actions and wait for the right moment to act on a large scale.
Success. Dense clouds and no rain, from my western outskirts.
The trigrams
The way back
9 Small Things → 62 Success in Small Matterslines 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6
Other transformations of Success in Small Matters
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.