Zhongfu, nine at the topHexagram 61, line 6 · Zhongfu (Inner Truth) · changing to 60
The line
In plain wordsA rooster's crow that wants to carry up to heaven. A rooster is not a creature that can climb to the sky. You have trusted what should not be trusted and stubbornly refuse to adapt; even with good intentions there is misfortune.
The Image commentary on this line
翰音登于天，何可長也。
"The rooster's cry rises toward heaven": how could it last?
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 plan you believe in, the promise you trust, was never going to fly, yet you cling to it and refuse to change. This can't hold out for long. Stop, accept that it is unsound, and take another road.
- Love
- The empty words you believe, the picture you have imagined, were never going to come down to earth, yet you hold on to them and refuse to turn back. Stop holding on; let go of what needs letting go.
- Money
- Returns described in glowing terms were never going to be paid out, yet you keep believing, keep holding on, and refuse to pull out. Stop now, put nothing more in, and get back whatever you can.
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 Zhongfu.
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 Zhongfu (Inner Truth); when this line changes it becomes Jie (Limitation): hexagram 61 changing to 60.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Jie (Limitation)
Have restraint, but do not be so harsh that even you cannot bear it.