Xiaoxu, nine at the beginningHexagram 9, line 1 · Xiaoxu (Small Restraint) · changing to 57
The line
In plain wordsWalking back along your own right path, how could there be any fault? Good fortune. You want to go forward but are being held back, so keep to your own road and don't let yourself be led off.
The Image commentary on this line
復自道，其義吉也。
"Returning by one's own path": its meaning is good fortune.
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
吉Favorable. This text describes a good outcome. Act the way it says and the matter can succeed. The promise has a condition: keep to the right course.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You want to push ahead, but someone or something is holding you back. Don't force your way through, and don't let anyone lead you by the nose either. Go back to your own road and do your own work solidly; walking this way you will not go wrong, and things actually go well.
- Love
- You want the relationship to move forward, but the other person's hesitation or outside circumstances stand in the way. Don't let your mood rise and fall with theirs. Return to your own pace and live your own life well; keeping to your own path cannot be wrong, and it is a good thing.
- Money
- You want to make a move but are stuck. Don't rush to force it through some side door, and don't let other people's talk of great opportunities lead you along. Go back to your usual steady way and spend within your means; there is nothing wrong in this, and it keeps you on firm ground.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Xiaoxu.
Line position
A yang line in a yang place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the fourth line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
First place: the beginning of the matter. Low position, little power. Begin carefully.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three backs, old yang), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Xiaoxu (Small Restraint); when this line changes it becomes Xun (The Gentle Wind): hexagram 9 changing to 57.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Xun (The Gentle Wind)
Enter gently, going with the current, and there will be a small gain.