Guan, nine in the fifth placeHexagram 20, line 5 · Guan (Contemplation) · changing to 23

The line

The Image commentary on this line

觀我生，觀民也。

"Contemplating my own life": this is to contemplate the people.

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

平Neutral. Neither good nor bad. Do your part, correct mistakes, and nothing will go wrong.

• 无咎 no blame: no fault attaches, often because a mistake is corrected in time

How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →

Asking about work, love or money

Work

You are in a visible position, and everyone is watching what you do. What your team is like mostly reflects what you are like. Check yourself first; if you act rightly, nothing will go wrong.

Love

How the other person treats you often mirrors how you treat them. Look at your own words and actions first and keep them upright; there is no need to rush to find fault with the other person.

Money

The people around you are watching how you spend and how you conduct yourself. If the money at home or in a partnership is in a mess, check your own habits first; only when you act rightly is nothing amiss.

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 Guan.

Line position

A yang line in a yang place: it is in its proper place; it holds the center of its trigram. Its partner is the second line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.

Fifth place: the center of the upper trigram, the ruler's seat, a place of achievement. This is where things are decided.

Proper place, center and correspondence explained →

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 Guan (Contemplation); when this line changes it becomes Bo (Splitting Apart): hexagram 20 changing to 23.

Which text to read with several changing lines →