Line 6 is supposed to be the position of the sage, who is beyond attachment to worldly things. Perhaps that is why line 6 is always so slippery to me.

I dread getting line six on any hexagram. I am never sure what it means in a practical sense. I have very little success making sense out of them. Hex. 1, line 6: did I already act too arrogant or is there still time to correct my attitude and save the day? Hex. 2 line 6, should I decide that it is all in the toilet now? Hex. 3 line 6: some translations say to "just give up" and others say that "to give up now would be the greatest mistake". Which is it?

I never quite relate to hex 42 line 6. "Others have sensed my generous impulses but my actions don't reflect my generosity?" This never seems to apply to my question. Yet I get that answer to my questions often.

I also hate hex 24 line 6, and 55 line 6 and 11 line 6 to name only a few.

Hex 20 line 6 is identical to 20 line 5!
Hex. 19 line 6 seems to be saying "nice of you to waste your time here". Hex 10 line 6 is a great one; what if there are no favorable signs that you can so far perceive? And hex 45 line 6, do you cry on someone's shoulder to get pity? Is that the best that can come out of the situation at that point?

In general, with line 6 what is being said is it is "time to throw in the towel" because the situation is already over, and whatever good or bad that is stemming from the situation has already been seeded and the karma will sprout. One's energy and attention must move on now. Is that how others see line 6?

Sometimes line 6 is the height of the situation, and so in some hexagrams, that's very postive: think of 50.6 or 14.6, for example. 40.6 is very positive as well, and there are many more. It all depends on the hexagram. It's true that line 6 has a general meaning of being the last stage of the hexagram's development, but sometimes that's positive, sometimes that's neutral, and sometimes that's negative.

But whether the line appears 'positive' or 'negative' - that's not as important as the information it's bringing you. I mean, if the situation's problematic in some way, then it's better to know about it, right?

Ladyganesha,

That's an interesting subject you've brought up. I've heard a number of explanations for the top line being so often foreboding. I think they all have merit.

Rather than offering my opinion on why this is, I'll offer what to do with it.

First, I think it's important to see that the lines are constantly evolving and cycling. A change in the 6th place means it's moving out of the field or sphere of relevance. For example: when 1.6 evolves, it becomes 43. The extreme of 1 brings about a breakthrough, and a voice.

One that tickles me is 21.6. The reason is that it is a paradox. You can?t hear the answer because you can?t hear. So you get frustrated trying to hear, but by the law and very nature of the time, you have no ears to hear. So you then just have to be content with not hearing, and the time will change into 51, shock! The hammer falls! The shock snaps your mind into a new state, and suddenly you can hear again, very clearly! chuckles

But what of Karcher who says that line 6 goes into the next hex? For example, 47.6 into 48? Remember his repressed noble returning to the source - 48?

Best for your Quest
Anita

Thank you for all your responses. I am new to this forum and am quite delighted to find such intelligent people communicating with such keen insight.

Some responses to the responses: Dobro--40 line 6 may point to a positive potential, but there is still the chore of hitting the hawk on the high wall. Is this guaranteed success?

Candid--the way you interpret 21 line 6 is identical to how I interpret 43 line 4! My own view of 21 line 6 is that the accumulation of naughty behaviors has caught up with the rogue and now he must pay for his sins. And yes, it changes to 51; the veritable conk on the head but the auspice for 51 is considered favorable nonetheless??

Anita's mention of how line 6 sort of 'begs' for the next hexagram is certainly valid. I think of 47 line 6 as the feeling, after being oppressed too long, that anything you try is going to fail. 48, then, is a antidote for this--to dive deep into the well of consciousness; to find the place where our 'thirst' might be satisfied, where we might find support among a community that will nurture our dreams. Perhaps 47 line 6 is really saying that we have been looking horizontally for too long when the 'antidote' is to dive vertically down to our roots, and soar vertically up and beyond the illusion of oppression that is an innate condition of the horizontal level of life--where we seek fruitlessly outward rather than inward to be filled. This notion reminds me of 32 line 4 "there is just no game in the field".
Susan

Sometimes when we feel oppression the only solution is to dig deeper in the well. There we can find nourishment - nourishment in the form of work, form of service, in the form of relief from thirst, or in the form of wisdom.

The first line of 47 tells us why we are oppressed, "we have fallen into a gloomy valley." This tells us that the troubles we inherit are troubles we have unconsciously and unwittingly brought down upon ourselves. It is only by looking within, (digging deep in the well) that we have any proclivity for finding a way out. In 48 line 4, the well is being lined, in others words, we are preparing ourselves for something better. We are working to overcome resistance within ourselves, sort of like the work carried out in hexagram 18, but with a view of correcting inner attitudes, not necessarily just corruption from the past, but ongoing problems. The Yi counsels us to "get out of the pit," but the only way to do that is by working. Hence 47 and 48 do have a deep connection, though perhaps not as obvious as some of the other pairs.

Gene