Jie, nine in the second placeHexagram 60, line 2 · Jie (Limitation) · changing to 3
The line
In plain wordsYou will not even leave the yard inside the front gate. Misfortune. When it is time to go out you do not go out; you know only restraint and not how to adapt, and the moment is missed.
The Image commentary on this line
不出門庭，失時極也。
"Not going out of the gate of the outer courtyard. Misfortune": one misses the time altogether.
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
- The opportunity is already at your door, yet you cling to the old rules and won't move; you only know how to hold back, not how to adapt. Wait any longer and the moment will be lost for good. Stop hiding, and go out now.
- Love
- You don't speak when it is time to speak, and you hang back when it is time to step forward, using caution as an excuse to shut yourself in. That way you will only keep missing out. Stop waiting; say what needs to be said now.
- Money
- You won't spend the money that should be spent or do what should be done; you just keep holding on and saving, until the moment is smothered. Stop clinging so tightly. What should go to proper uses, spend it now.
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 Jie.
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 Jie (Limitation); when this line changes it becomes Zhun (Difficult Beginnings): hexagram 60 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.