The lower trigram, also symbolizes wood. This hexagram represents the action of a shoot in the earth pushing upward with effort.
Moving upward with effort against restraint brings success. Seek out the great man and have no fears. There is advantage to the south.
The weak line moves upward at the proper time. In this hexagram, gentleness and willing acceptance are joined together. The strong line in the central position of the lower trigram wins response from the upper trigram, indicating great progress and success. Unexpected good fortune will result from the desire to see the great man and the concomitant freedom from fear or anxiety that will result. Southward lies the way to fortune and all desires will eventually be fulfilled.

Line 1

Move upward, welcomed by those above. Great good fortune.
This hexagram represents the unimpeded rise from obscurity and inferior origins to a position of power. This line is the beginning of such a rise. Good fortune comes from the acceptance and confidence of those in higher positions.

Line 2

Sincere, though he made only a small sacrifice. He suffers no blame.
A man of strong character, secure in his convictions will not be criticized even if he is out of tune with his surroundings and impatient with formalities.

Line 3

He moves upward into an unoccupied city.
The obstacles are removed. The man of ambition ascends unimpeded like a liberator entering a city that has been abandoned. But the text adds no promise of good fortune. Perhaps the unoccupied city is only a trap to lead him to disaster.

Line 4

The king makes offerings on Mount Chi. Good fortune, no blame,
This text refers to the time when the Chou dynasty was coming into power in China. It was Prince Chou, the son of King Wen, who provided the texts for the individual lines. Wen made sacrifices at the shrine on Mount Chi, in his homeland district in western China and honoured his assistants by including them in the ceremony.

Line 5

Righteous persistence brings good fortune but one moves upward step by step.
As a man moves ever higher, it is essential that he should not be carried away by his continuing success. He must go steadily onward, step by step, almost hesitatingly, patiently making his way without haste, overlooking nothing.

Line 6

Moving upward in darkness, unremitting persistence is favourable.
Blind ambition can lead one onward not to success, but to failure. Now it is more important than ever to know exactly what one means to do and where one means to go. The outcome may still be material loss, but some advantage will be gained.

© 1979 Neil Powell

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Hexagram 47

Hexagram 45

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