Here the life force comes to a state of rest, so activities that we are just beginning may run into difficulties as their energy peters out. If we do not push forward we may seem weak to those who do not recognize the situation but we do best to go at the pace that circumstances allow.

The wild goose approaches land and so a place to rest; renewal, however, (the son) has difficulties, young or new efforts are not supported by the life force. The lack of progress towards any completion leads to criticism but it is not our fault, it is time for gradually finishing a journey, not starting a new one.

Here our feelings become stilled by the tao and we can relax efforts towards activity. There is no need and no profit to be gained from pushing forward towards what we desire, there is enough nourishment here in our present situation to rest and renew us.

Rock is what underlies the surface and so is symbolic of underlying truth. The truth of our situation is that we can relax and enjoy what nourishment our circumstances provide—there is no need to continue the journey at present.

In a tao that has so little flow it is not an advantage to set out on new activity because it is not supported by the life energy and will not reach completion. Identity’s need for activity tempts us to move, activity is its food, but here it will lead us astray.

The goose has gone too far, its natural habitat is near water and here it approaches dry land; we identify too far into a defined world where values are fixed, dry so unflowing, so the defining element in us (the man) is projected into our circumstances and is lost there. The flowing and feeling element in us could give birth to new experience but cannot bring it forth because we identify our outer self as the source of action and ignore the womb where growth occurs “of itself”. The evil is this narrow attitude.

As our intuitive state is active (line 2) this recognition of it restores the flow of feeling to our conscious self.

For a goose the crest of a hill does not mean home, it is something to rise over. This images an effort and then success and the three years the woman waits for her child is a period of change, change to new feeling which allows the natural processes to complete themselves.

When the life force is inactive we may seek the influence of outer activity, this will not be new fresh influence, this has to come from the inner.

The toe is the leader of our steps and far from our centre. The influence symbolized is external and forceful.

In this tao of building up energy (confidence, relationship and so forth) we have a tendency to want to move, to release the stress in us which is building up, but we should not do this too soon, so in order to lessen the tension we feel it less.

The activity of the calves raises the weight of the body onto the toes so that we fall into a step. By restraining this first movement we prevent the step developing which would set a direction and so be narrowing to our choice (evil). In the same way with feeling, once it is defined we fall into its expression; here we are less active in the feeling and so abiding quietly, which is good fortune.

In this tao there is no flow outwards. Here we create a flow of activity, and we do this for purposes, for desires to gain an end. This will dissipate the growing inner influence.

The thigh moves the body forward into the step, so here we are already in motion following either what we look up to or what looks up to us; either of these serves to justify our identified self, the existing and established self.

Outer action is quiet in this tao (line 3 is yang) so the influence here is for identity to be involved in quietness. This is beneficial as it allows the inner influences to have attention.

Regret disappears because we are creating no action that we could regret, but we need to maintain this quietness and watch the natural tendency to activity.

Our feelings are actively interpreting the life force, so to become involved here is to assist the influence of the inner life force outwards and so also the influence of the tao.

The spinal area is the central core of our body-being and is associated here to the heart which is traditionally the core of our feeling; it is feeling (line 2) that this line monitors.

The emerging life force (line 1) is active; here our inner being is disregarding it. In a tao about the inner influencing the outer this is also disregarding the tao, so we remain on the outer surface of our being and unable to change our way of being ourselves.

With our jaws and tongue we express ourselves; here we give out our definitions about our situation instead of absorbing experience which is the function of this 6th line. Energy is dissipated if we constantly say what our reality is.

Here we are not moving sufficiently with the tao we are in; the drive in the tao diminishes before we have completed our transition out of a habit-reality.

We are in transition so it is essential to keep moving, if we stop to consider our position we get submerged in where we are and the transition ceases.

With our intuitive feelings active we are more aware, and to be more aware when in transition means witnessing, not being involved in action; we just feel our situation.

We stop our outer movement; it is this that carries us in the world and so is our carriage. Transition continues here while the old way of moving is stopped, so continuing with this is the way through.

If we stop movement during transition we may start off in a new direction to save ourselves the effort of inner change.

Change in our mode of being is not complete so to start any new movement now will be moving from our old motivations and endanger the change that is nearly complete.

When a change is happening in our identifying pattern our old motivations turn up all sorts of new activities to keep themselves in being; these are the stumbling blocks to change.

We have to continue through the change (three years symbolically is a cycle of change) continually preventing old and habitual ways from keeping their footholds. Before completion means that we are on our way in a process of change and to complete the transition we must persist.

Our intuitive feeling is quiet in this tao; we have needed to accept this quietness also so that new action did not arise. Now we are further along the path of change and do not need this vigilance.

The transition has passed its doubting phase where we were subject to going back to the old ways. We now have confidence in the wider experience which is the reward of transition.

The life energy of this tao moves to create change, and here we go with the movement, identifying in it. We need to be careful of this identifying.

Confidence and over-confidence; in the first we trust providence and in the second we trust our heads.