Heng, nine in the third placeHexagram 32, line 3 · Heng (Endurance) · changing to 40
The line
In plain wordsYou can't keep up your virtue over time, and there is no telling when someone will bring disgrace to your door. Even if what you are doing is right, without constancy it is embarrassing.
The Image commentary on this line
不恆其德，无所容也。
"Not enduring in his virtue": there is nowhere that will take him in.
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
慎Proceed with care. There is some risk, or some regret left over, but nothing serious. Notice it early, correct it early, and things turn for the better.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- Serious one day, careless the next, not keeping your word: one day someone may well call you out in front of everyone. Watch out. Doing the right thing is not enough; you also have to keep it up.
- Love
- Warm one moment and cold the next, changing course halfway through what you promised: the other person's trust wears away little by little, and in the end it turns very embarrassing. Being good is not hard; staying good is.
- Money
- The rules you set yourself keep getting broken: saving today, splurging tomorrow, putting off the repayments you promised again and again. Watch out; this can easily cost you face. Only what you keep up counts.
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 Heng.
Line position
A yang line in a yang place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the top line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
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 Heng (Endurance); when this line changes it becomes Xie (Release): hexagram 32 changing to 40.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Xie (Release)
The difficulty is lifting; you can breathe out.