Hexagram 15 line 5: Modesty, yin in the fifth place

What changes when line 5 moves

Line 5 of Hexagram 15 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 39, Obstruction: Water on the mountain, a dangerous ravine ahead: the obstacle is real, and the way is to turn and seek help.

Read together, the reading moves from Modesty toward Obstruction. A mountain inside the earth: real substance carried without display, which the tradition rewards above almost everything. Mountain below, water above: a steep mountain with a treacherous stream at its top, an obstacle that cannot be walked through. Obstruction differs from Difficulty at the Beginning: this obstacle is outside you, in the terrain, and it is not passable by persistence alone. The primary hexagram describes the situation; the changing line is the point of movement in it; the resulting hexagram is where that movement leads. Both hexagrams belong to the reading, and the changing line is the hinge between them.

Hexagram 15 changing to 39 →

Line 5 in context

Love & relationships

When firmness is needed, use it without display and without apology. In love and relationships, Hexagram 15 reads: Let your actions speak and your claims stay quiet. The reading favours the partner who does the work without needing it noticed. Balance is the theme: give more where you have given little, ask less where you have asked much.

Career

When firmness is needed, use it without display and without apology. In career, Hexagram 15 reads: Competence without self-promotion, which in this reading is rewarded rather than overlooked. Do the substantial thing and let it be seen in its own time. Level the team's imbalances rather than standing above them.

Money

When firmness is needed, use it without display and without apology. In money, Hexagram 15 reads: Moderation. Reduce excess, cover the shortfalls, avoid display. Wealth handled modestly grows quietly; wealth flaunted draws the attention that costs it.

A decision

When firmness is needed, use it without display and without apology. In decisions, Hexagram 15 reads: Choose the option that balances rather than the one that impresses. Where you have too much of something, give some up; where too little, add. The modest choice is the one that carries through.