Transformation · line 6
Success in Small Matters becomes The Traveler
What this change means
The top line moves, and its picture is stark: the bird keeps flying past what it should have met and falls into the net. Pursue what can't be reached yet and you'll lose whatever you invest in it; the old text calls this calamity. When the line changes, the Thunder above becomes Fire on the mountain, and the resulting hexagram is 56 The Traveler. It describes a time of small achievements and change, new places or situations that ask you to adapt, travel light, let go of attachments and be gracious with new people. The warning and the remedy fit together. Stop pushing toward the distant prize. Loosen your grip, accept that you're passing through a stage, and focus on modest, adaptable steps. The less you cling, the less you stand to lose.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- 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 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 56 The Traveler
It's a time of small achievements. Keep a light, flexible attitude. You may be facing a period of change, new places or situations that ask you to adapt while they settle: let go of attachments and be gracious as you make new connections and your situation takes hold.
Small success. For the traveler, constancy brings good fortune.
The trigrams
The way back
56 The Traveler → 62 Success in Small Mattersline 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.