Hexagram 17 line 6: Following, yin in the sixth place

What changes when line 6 moves

Line 6 of Hexagram 17 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 25, Innocence: Acting without calculation: doing what is right because it is right, and accepting what comes.

Read together, the reading moves from Following toward Innocence. Following what is right, and being followed: influence that comes from adapting to the time. Thunder below, heaven above: movement in accord with heaven. Innocence describes action that springs from an honest nature rather than from scheming, and the tradition ties it to the unexpected: what comes to the person who acts without ulterior motive cannot be planned and is not always pleasant. 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 25 →

Line 6 in context

Love & relationships

Honour the bonds that outlast their purpose; they are the real ones. 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

Honour the bonds that outlast their purpose; they are the real ones. 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

Honour the bonds that outlast their purpose; they are the real ones. 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

Honour the bonds that outlast their purpose; they are the real ones. 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.