Hexagram 48 line 4: The Well, yin in the fourth place

What changes when line 4 moves

Line 4 of Hexagram 48 is yin, a broken line. When it is cast as old yin (a 6) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 28, Great Excess: A ridgepole bending under too much weight: an extraordinary situation that demands extraordinary, careful action.

Read together, the reading moves from The Well toward Great Excess. The well that does not move while the town changes around it: the inexhaustible source, and the care it needs to reach. Wind below, lake above: the lake rising over the trees. Four strong lines in the middle, two weak at the ends: a beam too heavy for its supports. 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 48 changing to 28 →

Line 4 in context

Love & relationships

Take time to repair the source; it is not idleness. In love and relationships, Hexagram 48 reads: There is a deep source here, in the relationship or in one of you, and the question is whether it is being reached. Clean the well: clear the mud of old grievances. Lengthen the rope: give the time and attention it takes to draw. The source is not the problem.

Career

Take time to repair the source; it is not idleness. In career, Hexagram 48 reads: Something reliable and nourishing at the centre of the work, or of you. The reading asks you to maintain access to it: keep skills clear, keep the means of drawing on knowledge in good repair, and share the water. A well no one drinks from is the waste the lines describe.

Money

Take time to repair the source; it is not idleness. In money, Hexagram 48 reads: A steady source of income or value that does not fluctuate with the news. Maintain it, do not neglect it for something showier, and make sure the means of drawing on it are sound. The jug must not break at the top.

A decision

Take time to repair the source; it is not idleness. In decisions, Hexagram 48 reads: Choose the option that keeps you connected to a constant source rather than the one that moves the town. Ask whether your rope is long enough and your jug whole before you decide you are at a dry well.