Hexagram 20 line 5: Contemplation, yang in the fifth place

What changes when line 5 moves

Line 5 of Hexagram 20 is yang, a solid line. When it is cast as old yang (a 9) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart: A structure being stripped away from below: not a time to act, a time to endure and to give.

Read together, the reading moves from Contemplation toward Splitting Apart. Looking and being looked at: a moment for seeing the whole clearly before anything is done. Earth below, mountain above: a mountain resting on earth that is eroding beneath it. Five yin lines rise beneath one yang line at the top; the structure is collapsing from the bottom. 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 20 changing to 23 →

Line 5 in context

Love & relationships

Judge yourself by the effects of your leadership. In love and relationships, Hexagram 20 reads: Step back and look at the whole relationship rather than the last argument. See the pattern. The reading also reminds you that how you behave is being observed and forms the other person's view of you.

Career

Judge yourself by the effects of your leadership. In career, Hexagram 20 reads: A time for assessment rather than action: survey the whole field, understand the people, and set an example by how you conduct the survey. Others are watching how you look at them.

Money

Judge yourself by the effects of your leadership. In money, Hexagram 20 reads: Review before you act. Look at the whole financial picture with honesty, including the parts you have been avoiding. Decisions made from this overview are sounder than any made in the moment.

A decision

Judge yourself by the effects of your leadership. In decisions, Hexagram 20 reads: Do not decide yet; see. Take the widest view available, examine your own motives, and let the decision follow from clarity. The pause is not avoidance; it is the offering before the act.