Yi, nine at the topHexagram 42, line 6 · Yi (Increase) · changing to 3
The line
In plain wordsNo one comes to help you, and someone comes to strike you. Insatiably greedy, and fickle at heart besides: misfortune.
The Image commentary on this line
莫益之，偏辭也。或擊之，自外來也。
"No one brings increase": these are one-sided words. "Someone strikes": it comes from outside.
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
止Hold back. This text describes a bad outcome. Carry on as you are and you will lose by it. Stop, step aside or change your approach. Do not force it.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You have already asked for too much, you think only of pulling things your way, and you change your mind at a moment's notice. Right now no one will help you, and some will turn against you; stop at once, stop grabbing, and settle your mind first.
- Love
- If all you think about is getting a little more from the other person, and your feelings change from one moment to the next, you will only be pushed away, or even hurt. Stop, stop taking, and steady your own heart first.
- Money
- You only want to grab more and won't stop, and your mind has no fixed course, so right now not only will no one help, you will draw envy and trouble. Pull back at once, don't raise the stakes, and stop reaching out for more on every side.
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 Yi.
Line position
A yang line in a yin place: it is not in its proper place. Its partner is the third line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Top place: the end of the matter. What reaches its limit turns. Know when to stop.
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 Yi (Increase); when this line changes it becomes Zhun (Difficult Beginnings): hexagram 42 changing to 3.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Zhun (Difficult Beginnings)
Every beginning is hard, and right now you are in the hardest part of the beginning.