Hexagram 62 changing to 15: Small Excess to Modesty

Where it starts: 62 Small Excess

The bird that should not fly too high: a time for small things, done with extra care, and for staying low. Mountain below, thunder above: thunder on the mountain, louder than in the sky and smaller in reach. Four yielding lines outweigh two strong ones. Small Excess describes a time when the small predominates and the correct response is to attend to small things with slightly more care than usual: more reverence in conduct, more grief in mourning, more thrift in spending. The tradition's judgement is that small things may be done and great things may not, and its image is the flying bird whose call should go downward, not up. The reading says this is not a time to attempt anything large or to fly high, and that success lies in modesty carried a little past the ordinary.

Where it goes: 15 Modesty

A mountain inside the earth: real substance carried without display, which the tradition rewards above almost everything. Mountain below, earth above: height held beneath the ground. Modesty is the only hexagram in the book in which every line is favourable, and it describes greatness that does not need to show itself. The tradition's judgement is simple: modesty creates success, and the wise person carries things through. The reading is about levelling, reducing what is too much and adding to what is too little, in oneself and in the situation. It does not mean self-abasement. The mountain is still there; it is simply not making a point of itself.

The lines that move

1. Line 4

   No blame. He meets him without passing by. Going brings danger. One must be on guard. Do not act. Be constantly persistent.

   Restraint of one's strength in a time that does not support it: the strong person who does not press, meets the situation rather than forcing past it, and holds still. The line is a series of instructions to do nothing rashly. Meet the situation without forcing it; stay on guard, do not act.

What is changing. The situation of Small Excess is moving toward Modesty. Do small things with extra care and stay low; this is not a time to fly high. As the change completes: Reduce what is excessive, add to what is lacking, and let substance speak for itself.

love and relationships

Now: Small things, done with extra care: the gesture, the apology, the attention to detail. Not the grand declaration. The reading favours modesty and warns against flying high; the bird that climbs now is caught in the net. Then: Let your actions speak and your claims stay quiet. The reading favours the partner who does the work without needing it noticed. Balance is the theme: give more where you have given little, ask less where you have asked much.

career

Now: Attend to the details and keep a low profile. Great initiatives are not favoured. Be a little more conscientious than usual in conduct and spending, and let the small, well-done things accumulate. Then: Competence without self-promotion, which in this reading is rewarded rather than overlooked. Do the substantial thing and let it be seen in its own time. Level the team's imbalances rather than standing above them.

money

Now: Thrift beyond the ordinary. Small, careful economies rather than large plays. The reading rules out the big move and rewards attention to the details of the accounts. Then: Moderation. Reduce excess, cover the shortfalls, avoid display. Wealth handled modestly grows quietly; wealth flaunted draws the attention that costs it.

decisions

Now: Choose the small, careful option and decline the large one. The reading is explicit: small things may be done, great things may not. Decide accordingly. Then: Choose the option that balances rather than the one that impresses. Where you have too much of something, give some up; where too little, add. The modest choice is the one that carries through.