Transformation · lines 1 and 4
Success in Small Matters becomes Darkness
What this change means
Two lines move, one at the base and one in the upper half, and both trigrams change: the Mountain becomes Fire, the Thunder becomes Earth, and the light ends up beneath the ground. The fourth line leads. It says this isn't the time to act; stand firm and keep your purposes until the moment comes, staying on guard, since going ahead is dangerous. The first line adds its warning: the bird that flies too early meets misfortune. The resulting hexagram, 36 Darkness, describes a hard time spent among the wrong people, where safety comes from protecting yourself, holding on to your integrity and not displaying your talents openly. Together they counsel a quiet, watchful patience. Don't try to break out or prove yourself now. Keep your light inward, stay true to what you want, and remember that hard times pass.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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 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 36 Darkness
It's a dark time: circumstances force you to live alongside the wrong people. If you know how to protect yourself, hold on to your integrity, and go unnoticed, without openly showing your light and your talents, you'll stay safe until better times come. However hard they seem, hard times pass too.
Constancy in hardship is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
36 Darkness → 62 Success in Small Matterslines 1 and 4
Other transformations of Success in Small Matters
- 34Great Manifestationlines 1 and 2
- 51Shocklines 1 and 3
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2 and 3
- 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.