Transformation · lines 1 and 3
Success in Small Matters becomes Shock
What this change means
The first and third lines move, turning the Mountain below into Thunder, so that the quiet base starts to shake like the sky above it. The third line leads: carelessness and excess invite trouble, and without some extra guard, harm can come from behind. The first line backs it up with the bird that flies too soon and falls. Both point to overreaching when the moment calls for restraint. The resulting hexagram, 51 Shock, describes sudden events that frighten others; its counsel is to keep control and act calmly, without losing composure. That's the bridge between the two situations. Surprises may come, and they will catch you most where you've been careless or tried to go too far. Tighten your defenses now, keep your plans in proportion, and when something unexpected arrives, answer it with a steady hand instead of a leap.
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 62 Success in Small Matters
Carelessness and excess bring trouble.
Unless one goes beyond in guarding oneself, someone following will do harm. Misfortune.
- 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.
- 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.
- The judgment of 51 Shock
When unexpected situations come along that would frighten others, keep control and act calmly, without losing your composure. This attitude will get you results in what you want and let you succeed where others fail.
Success. Thunder comes, and there is dread; then laughter and easy talk. The thunder alarms a hundred leagues around, yet neither the ladle nor the sacrificial wine is let fall.
The trigrams
The way back
51 Shock → 62 Success in Small Matterslines 1 and 3
Other transformations of Success in Small Matters
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1 and 2
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2 and 3
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 4
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 4
- 2Passivitylines 3 and 4
- 49Renewallines 1 and 5
- 28Excesseslines 2 and 5
- 45Meetinglines 3 and 5
- 39Held Backlines 4 and 5
- 30The Flamelines 1 and 6
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 2 and 6
- 35Advancelines 3 and 6
- 52Abidinglines 4 and 6
- 33Leaving Behindlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.