Transformation · line 4
Success in Small Matters becomes Simplicity
What this change means
Only the fourth line moves, and its message is to hold still without losing your aim. Action is premature, yet firmness isn't: keep to your purposes until the moment to move arrives. Going ahead now is dangerous; stay on guard, and don't lock yourself into rigid persistence either. With this line the Thunder above quiets into Earth, and the mountain rests inside the ground: the resulting hexagram is 15 Simplicity. It asks you not to boast or show off, to keep things plain and act fairly, trusting that your qualities will show on their own. So the waiting this line asks for isn't passive. Keep your goals clear, your manner modest and your dealings fair. Let recognition come in its own time instead of pushing forward to claim it.
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.
- 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 15 Simplicity
This isn't the time to boast or show off. It's time to keep things simple and to make sure you act fairly; your qualities and talents will show on their own and be recognized.
Success. The noble person reaches the end.
The trigrams
The way back
15 Simplicity → 62 Success in Small Mattersline 4
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.