Hexagram 22 line 4: Grace, yin in the fourth place

What changes when line 4 moves

Line 4 of Hexagram 22 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 30, The Clinging: Fire that burns by clinging to what feeds it: clarity, dependence and the care of a cow.

Read together, the reading moves from Grace toward The Clinging. Form and beauty in their proper place: adornment that serves substance, and knows its limits. Fire below, fire above: light doubled, the sun rising twice. The Clinging is the hexagram of clarity and of dependence: fire is bright, and fire exists only by holding onto what it burns. 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 22 changing to 30 →

Line 4 in context

Love & relationships

Choose simplicity; the approach that follows is sincere. In love and relationships, Hexagram 22 reads: Attention to how things are done: courtesy, gesture, the setting. It matters and it is enjoyable. The reading warns against mistaking the surface for the bond, and its last line points at plain, unadorned sincerity as the highest grace.

Career

Choose simplicity; the approach that follows is sincere. In career, Hexagram 22 reads: Presentation counts: how you frame the proposal, how the work looks, the manners of the negotiation. Take the care. Do not let polish stand in for content, and do not make a large decision on the strength of appearances.

Money

Choose simplicity; the approach that follows is sincere. In money, Hexagram 22 reads: Good for matters of style, display and small refinement; poor for major financial decisions, which should not be made on how something is presented. Look past the packaging.

A decision

Choose simplicity; the approach that follows is sincere. In decisions, Hexagram 22 reads: Fine for small choices of form and manner. For a large decision, strip away the presentation and decide on substance. The reading explicitly does not support deciding great matters by appearances.