Dayou, nine in the third placeHexagram 14, line 3 · Dayou (Great Possession) · changing to 38
The line
In plain wordsA duke goes to the court of the Son of Heaven and offers up all he has. A person of virtue can do this; a petty person, even if he draws this line, cannot.
The Image commentary on this line
公用亨于天子，小人害也。
"A duke makes his offering to the Son of Heaven": for a petty person it would be harm.
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 have results and resources in hand. Offer them up to the bigger picture, to the team and to those above you, rather than clutching them to yourself. For someone upright, doing this is a blessing; if you are only after your own gain, you cannot hold on to it.
- Love
- Bring out the best of what you have and put it sincerely into love, without calculating what to hold back. With a selfish heart you cannot do this; with an upright one, this giving is itself a blessing.
- Money
- With money and resources in hand, be willing to put them to large uses and help something bigger than yourself succeed, rather than only enjoying them yourself. Only an upright heart can do this; if you are only working your own angle, even a good thing turns into harm.
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 Dayou.
Line position
A yang line in a yang place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the top line, which is also yang, so there is no answer from it.
Third place: the top of the lower trigram, a place of risk. A moment of transition. Be on guard.
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 Dayou (Great Possession); when this line changes it becomes Kui (Opposition): hexagram 14 changing to 38.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Kui (Opposition)
You are out of step with each other. Big things will not work; small ones still can.