Gou, nine in the fifth placeHexagram 44, line 5 · Gou (Encounter) · changing to 50
The line
In plain wordsCover the melon on the ground with a tall willow tree. Hold your own brilliance in, quietly keep watch and stand guard, and the turn for the better will come as if dropped from the sky, all at once.
The Image commentary on this line
九五含章，中正也。有隕自天，志不舍命也。
Nine in the fifth place holds "brilliance within": it is central and correct. "Something falls from heaven": the purpose does not abandon the mandate.
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. The text gives no verdict, but the picture it paints is a hopeful one. Act the way it describes and there will be something to gain.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You are in a high place, and trouble is growing beneath you. There is no need to make a show of it or to crush it by force: cover it steadily, guard against it quietly, and keep your abilities in reserve; hold on like this, and a turn for the better will arrive all at once.
- Love
- There is no need to rush to show yourself off, or to press the other person for an answer. Keep your good qualities to yourself, and quietly protect the relationship and your own heart; if you can hold steady, a good change will come as if dropped from the sky.
- Money
- Don't flaunt your money or show off your wealth; protect what needs protecting, and cover the gaps you need to guard against ahead of time. Stay calm and hold on without forcing things; the turn for the better often comes when you least expect it.
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 Gou.
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 also yang, so there is no answer from it.
Fifth place: the center of the upper trigram, the ruler's seat, a place of achievement. This is where things are decided.
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 Gou (Encounter); when this line changes it becomes Ding (The Cauldron): hexagram 44 changing to 50.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Ding (The Cauldron)
A new order is being set up. Great good fortune.