Hexagram 17 line 2: Following, yin in the second place

What changes when line 2 moves

Line 2 of Hexagram 17 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 58, The Joyous: Two lakes joined: joy that is firm within and gentle without, and shared with friends in open conversation.

Read together, the reading moves from Following toward The Joyous. Following what is right, and being followed: influence that comes from adapting to the time. Lake below, lake above: two lakes touching, each replenishing the other. The Joyous is the hexagram of gladness, and its structure explains the tradition's view of it: a firm line within, a yielding line without. 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 17 changing to 58 →

Line 2 in context

Love & relationships

Let go of the lesser attachment; it is costing you the greater one. In love and relationships, Hexagram 17 reads: Go along with the other person's rhythm for now, and choose carefully whom you follow. Devotion to someone worth it is strength; devotion to anyone who asks is the error the lines describe.

Career

Let go of the lesser attachment; it is costing you the greater one. In career, Hexagram 17 reads: Adapt to the direction of the organisation or the leader, if the direction is sound. If you lead, you keep followers by being worth following, not by insisting. Rest when the day ends.

Money

Let go of the lesser attachment; it is costing you the greater one. In money, Hexagram 17 reads: Follow the trend that is real rather than fighting it, and follow advice that is proven. The reading favours flexibility and warns against clinging to a position out of pride.

A decision

Let go of the lesser attachment; it is costing you the greater one. In decisions, Hexagram 17 reads: Choose the option that adapts to the situation as it is. If it means following someone else's lead, do it wholeheartedly or not at all; half-following is the worst of both.