First of all, I want to say ni hao to everyone. This is my first post.

I have a question about how to interpret changing lines. I know all triagrams, hexegrams and lines are neutral and neither good or bad but please bare with me for my sake.

Example:
I recently cast hexigram 42 which seems pretty good and got line 5 and 6 as a changing lines which transforms the hexigram to 24 which seems really good too. However the changing seems to signify a very "negative" course of action in order to get from 42 to 24.

This is confusing to me.

As you can see, I am quite new to Yi and any help would be much appreciated.

newlife said:

I recently cast hexigram 42 which seems pretty good and got line 6 as a changing line which transforms the hexigram to 24 which seems really good too. However the changing seems to signify a very "negative" course of action in order to get from 42 to 24.

This is confusing to me.

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Welcome to Clarity. Hexagram 42 with line 6 changing gives hexagram 3. Could it be that you are not keeping your heart constantly steady?

ni hao, newlife.

The 6 line often reflects what happens when you push an idea or a tendency too far, or an entire situation has worn out its welcome. In the case of 42.6, a partiality or self-centeredness may have taken over. You may be seeing progress on the object of inquiry, and the tendency is to relax and indulge in the moment. In truth, you're in the eye of the hurricane, and the calm is illusory. Do not relax, do not indulge.

Changing lines and resulting hexes suggest the future should you continue on a present course of action ... a future as it may be rather than as it must be. (fwiw, our western notion of linear time does not necessarily accord with the Chinese view of cyclical time.)

If you somehow landed back in 24, you're returning to a familiar pattern of action and response. Whether this is positive or otherwise, only you can tell.

If, as Pocossin suggests, you're headed toward hex 3, you're entering a state of confusion as opposing forces sort themselves out. Inner world change is manifesting in outer world change, and there's quite a swirl as undisciplined energies (back to that hurricane image) create a new reality.

Oops, sorry guys I made a mistake. Actually both lines 5 and 6 are changing lines. But I learned that it is best only to read the top changing line. Yeah I am a newbie. I will edit the original post.

I still don't quite get it. So does the changing line indicate the course I should take in order to reach the transformed hex from the cast hex? Or is it telling which course of action to avoid? In this case it seems to be telling me to take a negative course in order to see a positive result?

Determining whether an answer from Yi is an omen, advice, or an image of what your situation looks like is up to the interpreter, which ultimately of course is you.

We tend to get instant relief from hex's like 42 or 25, yet both are conditional upon ones own actions.

42: If he sees good, he imitates it;
If he has faults, he rids himself of them.

25: If someone isn't as he should be,
He has misfortune

I only mention 25 as another example of a feel good hexagram, which could be argued, requires 24 as a condition; just as it can be argued that 42 first requires 41.

42, lines 5 and 6 are opposites, which means one receiving it is given a choice, alternatives, based on the conditions they choose to employ. And, it's reasonable to then expect Yi's answer to be an omen.

This could be of help. An old method, tweaked a bit for three changed lines but explained otherwise. Scroll down to "How to interpret changing lines"

http://biroco.com/yijing/basics.htm

sparhawk said:

This could be of help. An old method, tweaked a bit for three changed lines but explained otherwise. Scroll down to "How to interpret changing lines"

http://biroco.com/yijing/basics.htm

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I have never liked this method. First, because it requires the use of extraneous materials in the form of these 32 charts. Second, because I do not think it is justifiable to ignore what the lines say when three change, which surely reflect the dynamic of the change better than a kind of balancing act between the two hexagram judgments. - S J Marshall

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Wholeheartedly agree. Eliminating lines for the sake of easy interpretation is only a partial reading with a partial interpretation, and at best result in a partial understanding of available potentials.

Wholeheartedly agree. Eliminating lines for the sake of easy interpretation is only a partial reading...

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ditto.

Paraphrasing Einstein: "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler..." In search of an "easier" way to deal with changing lines, the issue is further complicated. If you want to make it simpler still, just flip a coin. Once.