Hexagram 58 changing to 60: The Joyous to Limitation

Where it starts: 58 The Joyous

Two lakes joined: joy that is firm within and gentle without, and shared with friends in open conversation. Lake below, lake above: two lakes touching, each replenishing the other. The Joyous is the hexagram of gladness, and its structure explains the tradition's view of it: a firm line within, a yielding line without. True joy is firm inside and gentle outside, not the reverse. The judgement is success, persistence furthers. The image is of friends discussing and practising together, joy that grows by being shared and by being about something. The reading says the situation is one of gladness, or should be, and the lines distinguish the joy that comes from within and from good company from the joy that is sought outside and ends in dissipation.

Where it goes: 60 Limitation

Water in a lake with a bank: limits that give form and save strength, provided they are not galling. Lake below, water above: a lake that holds only so much, and overflows past its limit. Limitation describes measure: the boundaries, rules and economies that give a life or an undertaking its shape. The Chinese character is the joint of a bamboo stalk, the division that makes the whole strong. The tradition's judgement is that limitation brings success, and that galling limitation must not be persisted in. Limits are good when they fit and harmful when they crush. The image is of the wise person creating number and measure and examining the nature of virtue and conduct. The reading says the situation asks for limits, chosen deliberately, and asks you to set them where they strengthen rather than where they strangle.

The lines that move

1. Line 4

   Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes, a man has joy.

   The choice between higher and lower pleasures, deliberated and not yet made. Peace comes only once the lower is given up. The line describes the discomfort of deliberation and the relief of decision. Choose the higher pleasure and give up the lower; the peace comes after.

What is changing. The situation of The Joyous is moving toward Limitation. Keep joy firm within and gentle without, and share it in honest company. As the change completes: Set limits deliberately, where they give form and save strength, and keep them; loosen any that gall.

love and relationships

Now: Gladness in the relationship, and the reading's counsel on how to keep it: firm inside, gentle outside. Joy that depends on the other person's constant reassurance is the weak kind; joy that is grounded in yourself and shared openly is the lasting kind. Then: Boundaries, agreed and kept: what each of you needs, what each of you will not do, how much is enough. The reading favours limits that both of you accept and warns against ones that gall. The right measure makes the relationship strong at the joints.

career

Now: Good working relationships, open exchange, the pleasure of learning with others. The reading favours collaboration and honest discussion, and warns against the gladness that comes from flattery or from seeking approval. Then: Discipline and economy: the scope defined, the hours set, the standard fixed. The reading favours clear limits that people can work within, and warns against constraints so tight that they break the people they were meant to shape.

money

Now: Enjoyment of what you have, shared. The reading is against spending on pleasure sought from outside, and for the contentment that comes from a firm inner position. Beware of the tempting proposal that brings a false gladness. Then: Budget. The reading is for thrift and measure, limits set deliberately and kept. It warns against both extravagance and a stinginess so severe it becomes its own harm. Find the proportion.

decisions

Now: Choose the option that brings real, grounded gladness, and share the deciding with people you trust. The reading is against the choice made to please or to be pleased, and for the one made from inner firmness. Then: Choose the option with clear, bearable limits. Decide how much is enough before you decide anything else. The reading is against open-ended commitments and against ones so restrictive they cannot be kept.