Xie, nine in the second placeHexagram 40, line 2 · Xie (Release) · changing to 16
The line
In plain wordsOut hunting, you catch three foxes and also come by a yellow arrow. Get rid of the flattering, cunning people around you, and hold to what is central and correct yourself: good fortune.
The Image commentary on this line
九二貞吉，得中道也。
Nine in the second place, "staying true brings good fortune": it holds the way of the center.
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
- The flatterers and schemers around you: if they need clearing out, clear them out, and don't let them keep circling you. Hold to fairness and proportion in your own work, and it turns out well.
- Love
- See clearly who around you stirs up trouble or talks sweetly with bad intentions, and keep away from them. Hold on to your own sincerity and sense of proportion, and your love life stays clean and clear. That is good.
- Money
- Clear out, one by one, the people and schemes that sweet-talk you into paying up or try to take advantage of you. Stay upright yourself, neither crooked nor greedy, and your money stays clean and secure.
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 Xie.
Line position
A yang line in a yin place: it is not in its proper place; it holds the center of its trigram. Its partner is the fifth line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Second place: the center of the lower trigram, a place of praise. Stay centered and yielding.
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 Xie (Release); when this line changes it becomes Yu (Enthusiasm): hexagram 40 changing to 16.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Yu (Enthusiasm)
People are willing and the mood is good. It suits getting everyone moving on something, but don't get lost in feeling pleased.