Hexagram 39 line 2: Obstruction, yin in the second place

What changes when line 2 moves

Line 2 of Hexagram 39 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 48, The Well: The well that does not move while the town changes around it: the inexhaustible source, and the care it needs to reach.

Read together, the reading moves from Obstruction toward The Well. Water on the mountain, a dangerous ravine ahead: the obstacle is real, and the way is to turn and seek help. Wind below, water above: wood reaching down into water, the pole and bucket drawing from the well. The Well is the hexagram of the source: what nourishes everyone, stays where it is, and can be neither increased nor diminished. 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 39 changing to 48 →

Line 2 in context

Love & relationships

If duty sends you into the block, go, and do not blame yourself for it. In love and relationships, Hexagram 39 reads: An obstacle between you that cannot be bulldozed. Stop pushing, look at your own part in it, and bring in help or perspective from outside. The lines repeatedly favour turning back to gather allies over going forward alone.

Career

If duty sends you into the block, go, and do not blame yourself for it. In career, Hexagram 39 reads: A real block. Do not attack it head-on. Turn to easier ground, seek advice from someone experienced, and use the pause to work on yourself. The reading treats the obstruction as an occasion for growth rather than a failure.

Money

If duty sends you into the block, go, and do not blame yourself for it. In money, Hexagram 39 reads: Blocked. Move toward the easier, more open option rather than the difficult one, take advice, and do not throw resources at the obstacle. Persistence is favoured, force is not.

A decision

If duty sends you into the block, go, and do not blame yourself for it. In decisions, Hexagram 39 reads: Choose the option that goes around, not through: the open plain, not the ravine. Bring in help. If a decision can wait until you have examined your own role in the block, let it.