Jing, nine in the second placeHexagram 48, line 2 · Jing (The Well) · changing to 39
The line
In plain wordsThe water in the well only seeps away into a small hole at the bottom, keeping a few little fish alive; the clay jug for drawing water is broken too, and leaks. There is water, but it cannot reach the top.
The Image commentary on this line
井谷射鮒，无與也。
"In the well's hollow, water trickles to the minnows": it has no companion.
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. The text gives no verdict, but the picture is a bad one. Carry on as you are and you will lose by it. Stop, step aside, or change your approach.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You have ability, but it all gets used up on trivial things, and no one above takes it further, so your effort simply leaks away. Stop wasting yourself like this; stop, and don't spend your ability where it isn't worth it.
- Love
- You have real feeling, but it all leaks away to people and things that don't deserve it, and none of it reaches where it should. Stop draining yourself bit by bit like this; stop first.
- Money
- There is money, but it all leaks out through small holes into odds and ends, and the jar that holds it is cracked as well. Don't let it keep leaking: stop first, and don't pour any more into a broken jar.
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 Jing.
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 also yang, so there is no answer from it.
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 Jing (The Well); when this line changes it becomes Jian (Obstruction): hexagram 48 changing to 39.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Jian (Obstruction)
The road ahead is very hard. Do not force your way forward yet.