I Ching reading: Zhun (Difficult Beginnings) changing to Yi (Increase)
Zhun: Six at the top
The horses mounted yet milling about. Tears of blood stream down.
乘馬班如，泣血漣如。
止Hold back
Reading
Not now.Every beginning is hard, and right now you are in the hardest part of the beginning.
Governing text · Zhun: Six at the top
In plain wordsOn horseback with no way forward and no way back, weeping until the tears run with blood. The difficulty has reached its limit, no one is there to help, and only worry and fear remain — this road is a dead end.
- 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 at the top. The answer is in that line. The text gives no verdict, but the picture is a bad one. Carry on as you are and you will lose by it. Stop, step aside, or change your approach.
- Where it is heading
- Things are moving toward Yi (Increase): There is help and there is gain; a good time to go ahead boldly.
- 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: 8 yin · 3: 8 yin · 4: 8 yin · 5: 7 yang · 6: 6 yin (changing)
Line position
In its proper place · not answered by the third line
Top place: the end of the matter. What reaches its limit turns. Know when to stop.
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.