Xiaoguo, six at the beginningHexagram 62, line 1 · Xiaoguo (Small Excess) · changing to 55
The line
In plain wordsThe bird keeps flying higher and higher, and because of that there is misfortune. When it is time to go down, it insists on going up.
The Image commentary on this line
飛鳥以凶，不可如何也。
"The bird flies on, and so there is misfortune": nothing can be done about it.
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 only just started and already want to shoot upward: grabbing positions, taking on big jobs, pushing ahead over others' heads. This will only lead to trouble, and once it does, no one can pull you back. Stop, come down to earth, and do the basics well.
- Love
- Forcing the relationship ever higher, rushing for promises, for an outcome, for some grand gesture from the other person, only makes the fall harder. Stop, come back down to earth, and get the everyday right first.
- Money
- You are set on reaching higher, borrowing to raise the stakes and chasing big returns; once something goes wrong, there will be no cleaning it up. Pull back now, stop climbing, and hold on to what you have 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 Xiaoguo.
Line position
A yin line in a yang place: it is not in its proper place. Its partner is the fourth line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
First place: the beginning of the matter. Low position, little power. Begin carefully.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three inscribed sides, old yin), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Xiaoguo (Small Excess); when this line changes it becomes Feng (Abundance): hexagram 62 changing to 55.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Feng (Abundance)
This is the very height. Use it well, and know that what peaks will decline.