Hexagram 29 line 2: The Abysmal, yang in the second place

What changes when line 2 moves

Line 2 of Hexagram 29 is yang, a solid line. When it is cast as old yang (a 9) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 8, Holding Together: Union around a worthy centre: people come together, and the time to join is now rather than later.

Read together, the reading moves from The Abysmal toward Holding Together. Danger repeated, as water in a ravine: the way through is sincerity, and going through rather than around. Earth below, water above: water gathering on the ground, flowing together. Holding Together describes union, the natural drawing-together of people around someone or something worth gathering around. 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 29 changing to 8 →

Line 2 in context

Love & relationships

Aim small; do what is possible inside the danger. In love and relationships, Hexagram 29 reads: A hard stretch, and possibly a repeated one. The reading does not promise it ends soon. It says that sincerity, meaning saying what is true and staying, is what carries a relationship through the ravine. Avoiding the difficulty is what deepens it.

Career

Aim small; do what is possible inside the danger. In career, Hexagram 29 reads: Real difficulty, perhaps the same difficulty returning. Do not seek a way around it; work through it steadily and honestly, one hollow at a time. Consistency under pressure is what earns esteem here.

Money

Aim small; do what is possible inside the danger. In money, Hexagram 29 reads: Risk and constraint. Do not take on more; move through what is already there with discipline and truthfulness. The reading warns against clever escapes and rewards steady, honest handling.

A decision

Aim small; do what is possible inside the danger. In decisions, Hexagram 29 reads: Not a moment for the bold or the evasive option. Choose the one that goes straight through the difficulty with honesty and can be sustained. Expect to pass this way more than once.