Hexagram 6 changing to 44: Conflict to Coming to Meet

Where it starts: 6 Conflict

A dispute you are sincere in but cannot win outright: meet halfway, and take advice before going further. Water below, heaven above: the two move in opposite directions and cannot meet. Conflict describes a disagreement that has hardened, where you may be in the right and still cannot carry it through by force. The tradition is specific: sincerity matters, obstruction is real, stopping halfway brings good fortune and pushing to the end brings misfortune. It recommends seeing the great person, meaning someone impartial who can arbitrate, and it says plainly that this is not the time to cross the great water, not the time for large undertakings.

Where it goes: 44 Coming to Meet

One yin line entering beneath five yang: an encounter that looks small and must be met with clear judgement. Wind below, heaven above: wind moving under the sky, reaching into everything. One yielding line has entered at the bottom, the reverse of Breakthrough. Coming to Meet describes an encounter with something that seems harmless and is not: an influence, a person, a temptation, a small beginning of a large change. The tradition's judgement is blunt: the maiden is powerful, one should not marry such a maiden. The image is gentler: the prince issues commands and proclaims them to the four quarters. The reading asks for alertness at the point of meeting: what is arriving is small now and will not stay small, and the right response is to see it clearly and to set terms at once.

The lines that move

1. Line 3

   Living on old merit; danger, but a good end. Serving a king, one claims no credit.

   Your standing rests on past work rather than on winning this argument, and that is enough if you do not insist on new recognition. Keep to what you have earned and let the credit for the outcome go to others. Rely on your record, not on victory, and do not fight for credit.

What is changing. The situation of Conflict is moving toward Coming to Meet. Stop the dispute halfway, seek an impartial view, and start nothing large until it is settled. As the change completes: See the encounter clearly at the start, set terms at once, and do not bind yourself to what will grow.

love and relationships

Now: An argument in which both of you feel right. Winning it is not available. The reading asks you to stop before the point of no return, to bring in a fair outside view if you need one, and to look at how the disagreement began. Then: An encounter, attractive and possibly unwise. The reading does not say refuse it; it says see it for what it is and do not bind yourself to something that will grow beyond your control. Set the terms at the start.

career

Now: A conflict with a colleague, client or employer. Do not escalate to the end. Document your position, stay sincere, seek a neutral arbiter, and settle at the halfway point where you can. Then: A new influence, person or proposal entering, apparently minor. Treat it with full attention; the hexagram's lesson is that what enters small becomes decisive. Judge it now, clearly, and declare where you stand.

money

Now: A dispute over money, or a deal going sour. The reading warns against litigation to the finish and against new ventures while the dispute is open. Settle if you can; do not expand while you fight. Then: A tempting opportunity that arrives unexpectedly. Do not commit on the strength of its appeal. The reading warns against being drawn into a coupling whose consequences you cannot yet see.

decisions

Now: Do not decide in the heat of the conflict, and do not commit to anything large while it runs. The choice that lets you stop halfway with dignity is the better one. Then: Recognise the meeting for what it is before you decide. The reading is against binding commitments to an influence that has just appeared and looks small. Set conditions; do not marry the maiden.