I Ching reading: Zhun (Difficult Beginnings) changing to Jie (Limitation)
Zhun: Six in the second place
Stuck and turning back, the horses mounted yet milling about. Not a robber but a suitor. The young woman stays true and does not give her word; after ten years she gives it.
屯如邅如，乘馬班如。匪寇婚媾，女子貞不字，十年乃字。
慎Proceed with care
Reading
Yes, but carefully.Every beginning is hard, and right now you are in the hardest part of the beginning.
Governing text · Zhun: Six in the second place
In plain wordsAdvancing and retreating, unable to get anywhere even on horseback. The one who comes is not a robber but a suitor; yet you keep to the right course and don't say yes, and only after a long time, when the truly right person comes, do you give your word. Don't settle just because things are hard.
- Now
- Things have only just started. There are many loose ends and much resistance, like a seed just pushing up through the soil. The prospects are good, but for now it is heavy going.
- The key
- Only one line is changing: Six in the second place. The answer is in that line. The text gives no verdict, but the picture holds an obstacle and a warning. Slow down and watch the point it warns about.
- Where it is heading
- Things are moving toward Jie (Limitation): Have restraint, but do not be so harsh that even you cannot bear it.
- What to do
- Don't be in a hurry to go far. First get a firm footing, find helpers, and untangle the mess one thread at a time.
Read more closely
Which text applies
One changing line: read that line of the primary hexagram.
Your six throws, bottom to top: 1: 7 yang · 2: 6 yin (changing) · 3: 8 yin · 4: 8 yin · 5: 7 yang · 6: 8 yin
Line position
In its proper place · central · answered by the fifth line
Second place: the center of the lower trigram, a place of praise. Stay centered and yielding.
Nuclear hexagram · Bo (Splitting Apart)
The foundation is being hollowed out bit by bit. This is no time to act.
The nuclear hexagram is formed from the four inner lines. It shows what is going on inside the situation.
Full texts
One who truly knows the Changes does not need to divine. The text is for reflection; what you do is up to you.