Xun, nine at the topHexagram 57, line 6 · Xun (The Gentle Wind) · changing to 48
The line
In plain wordsSo humble that you crouch under the bed, and you have lost both your travel money and the axe that protects you, that is, even the decisiveness you ought to have. In this state, even with good intentions there is misfortune.
The Image commentary on this line
巽在床下，上窮也。喪其資斧，正乎凶也。
"Yielding beneath the bed": at the top, it is exhausted. "One loses one's funds and axe": this is surely misfortune.
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 given way until you have no views of your own left and your bargaining chips are all gone; whatever others say goes. Keep going along like this and even good intentions won't bring a good result. Stop giving way, and take back the decisions that are yours to make.
- Love
- You have retreated again and again for the other person and lost both your limits and your own mind; going along any further will only make it worse. Stop, and find your limits again. A relationship that can only be kept by your constant bowing is not worth guarding this way.
- Money
- To spare feelings, you have let money go one sum after another, and others decide how it is spent, until your funds are nearly gone. Stop now: no more lending, no more covering for others, no more nodding along. Hold on to what is left first.
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 Xun.
Line position
A yang line in a yin place: it is not in its proper place. Its partner is the third line, which is also yang, so there is no answer from it.
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 Xun (The Gentle Wind); when this line changes it becomes Jing (The Well): hexagram 57 changing to 48.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Jing (The Well)
The fundamental thing has not changed. The question is whether you are using it well, and using it all the way.