Hexagram 51 changing to 17: The Arousing to Following

Where it starts: 51 The Arousing

Thunder repeated: a shock that terrifies for a hundred miles, and the composure not to drop the ladle. Thunder below, thunder above: the arousing doubled, shock upon shock. The Arousing describes the sudden event that shakes everything: a crisis, a loss, an upheaval, a fright. The tradition's judgement is famous: the shock comes, oh, oh; laughter, ha, ha. The thunder terrifies for a hundred miles, and the person who does not let the sacrificial spoon and cup fall is the one the hexagram admires. The image adds the response: in fear and trembling, the wise person sets their life in order and examines themselves. The reading says a shock has come or is coming, that it will be frightening, and that the whole test is composure: to be shaken and not to drop what you are holding.

Where it goes: 17 Following

Following what is right, and being followed: influence that comes from adapting to the time. Thunder below, lake above: movement within joy, thunder resting in the lake in autumn. Following describes the art of adapting, of going with the time rather than against it, and of leading by being worth following. The tradition's judgement promises success with persistence, and the condition is that what is followed must be good. This is not passivity or drifting. It is the choice to serve something you believe in, to let others serve you only when you have earned it, and to rest when the season asks for rest.

The lines that move

1. Line 5

   Shock goes to and fro. Danger. But nothing is lost; there are things to be done.

   Repeated shocks, coming from every side, and a person who keeps their centre through all of them. Because they hold the middle, nothing is truly lost and the necessary tasks can still be done. Composure under repeated blows. The shocks keep coming; keep your centre and do the work in front of you.

What is changing. The situation of The Arousing is moving toward Following. Hold your composure through the shock, and let the fear become the review that sets things in order. As the change completes: Follow what is worth following, wholeheartedly, and adapt to the time.

love and relationships

Now: A shock in the relationship: a revelation, a loss, a sudden fright. The reading does not minimise it. It asks you not to drop what you hold: keep your composure, do not act from the first terror, and let the fright become the examination that puts things in order. Then: Go along with the other person's rhythm for now, and choose carefully whom you follow. Devotion to someone worth it is strength; devotion to anyone who asks is the error the lines describe.

career

Now: Sudden upheaval: a change of leadership, a crisis, a jolt. The people who come through are the ones who keep their heads while the thunder rolls. Do not make big decisions in the first shock; use it to review everything. Then: Adapt to the direction of the organisation or the leader, if the direction is sound. If you lead, you keep followers by being worth following, not by insisting. Rest when the day ends.

money

Now: A financial shock. The reading's counsel is composure: do not sell in terror, do not act in the roll of the thunder. Examine what the shock reveals about your arrangements and set them in order. Then: Follow the trend that is real rather than fighting it, and follow advice that is proven. The reading favours flexibility and warns against clinging to a position out of pride.

decisions

Now: Do not decide inside the shock. Let the thunder pass, hold what you are holding, and decide once the fear has become examination. The reading's laughter comes after the fright, not during it. Then: Choose the option that adapts to the situation as it is. If it means following someone else's lead, do it wholeheartedly or not at all; half-following is the worst of both.