Your current situation can be depicted as "Revolution (Molting)" transforming into "Limitation".
In front of you lies "Lake" which transforms into "Water". That means that joy, pleasure, and attraction are being transformed into danger and the unknown. Behind you lies "Fire" which transforms into "Lake". That means that brightness and warmth are being transformed into joy, pleasure, and attraction.
The Situation
49. Ko - Revolution (Molting) Above (in front): Tui - The Joyous (Lake) Below (behind): Li - The Clinging (Fire)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The Chinese character for this hexagram means in its original sense an animal's pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting. From this word is carried over to apply to the "moltings" in political life, the great revolutions connected with changes of governments. The two trigrams making up the hexagram are the same two that appear in K'uei, OPPOSITION (38), that is, the two younger daughters, Li and Tui. But while there the elder of the two daughters is above, and what results is essentially only an opposition of tendencies, here the younger daughter is above. The influences are in actual conflict, and the forces combat each other like fire and water (lake), each trying to destroy the other. Hence the idea of revolution.
The Judgement for the Current Situation
Revolution. On your own day You are believed. Supreme success. Furthering through perseverance. Remorse disappears.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Political revolutions are extremely grave matters. They should be undertaken only under stress of direst necessity, when there is no other way out. Not everyone is called to this task, but only the man who has the confidence of the people, and even he only when the time is ripe. He must then proceed in the right way, so that he gladdens the people and, by enlightening them, prevents excesses. Furthermore, he must be quite free of selfish aims and must really relieve the need of the people. Only then does he have nothing to regret. Times change, and with them their demands. Thus the seasons change in the course of the year. In the world cycle also there are spring and autumn in the life of peoples and nations, and these call for social transformations.
The Image for the Current Situation
Fire in the lake: the image of Revolution. Thus the superior man Sets the calendar in order.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Fire below and the lake above combat and destroy each other. So too in the course of the year a combat takes place between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, eventuating in the revolution of the seasons. Man masters these changes in nature by noting their regularity and marking off the passage of time accordingly. In this way order and clarity appear in the apparently chaotic changes of the seasons, and man is able to adjust himself in advance to the demands of the different times.
Interpretation of the Changing Line(s)
Line 2: When one's own day comes, one may create revolution. Starting brings good fortune. No blame.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When we have tried in every other way to bring about reforms, but without success, revolution becomes necessary. But such a thoroughgoing upheaval must be carefully prepared. There must be available a man who has the requisite abilities and who possesses public confidence. To such a man we may well turn. This brings good fortune and is not a mistake. The first thing to be considered is our inner attitude toward the new condition that will inevitably come. We have to go out to meet it, as it were. Only in this way can it be prepared for.
Line 3: Starting brings misfortune. Perseverance brings danger. When the talk of revolution has gone the rounds three times, One may commit himself, And men will believe him.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When change is necessary, there are two mistakes to be avoided. One lies in excessive haste and ruthlessness, which bring disaster. The other lies in excessive hesitation and conservatism, which are also dangerous. Not every demand for change in the existing order should be heeded. On the other hand, repeated and well-founded complaints should not fail of a hearing. When talk of change has come to one's ears three times, and has been pondered well, he may believe and acquiesce in it. Then he will meet with belief and will accomplish something.
Line 4: Remorse disappears. Men believe him. Changing the form of government brings good fortune.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Radical changes require adequate authority. A man must have inner strength as well as influential position. What he does must correspond with a higher truth and must not spring from arbitrary or petty motives; then it brings great good fortune. If a revolution is not founded on such inner truth, the results are bad, and it has no success. For in the end men will support only those undertakings which they feel instinctively to be just.
The Future
60. Chieh - Limitation Above (in front): K'an - The Abysmal (Water) Below (behind): Tui - The Joyous (Lake)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
A lake occupies a limited space. When more water comes into it, it overflows. Therefore limits must be set for the water. The image shows water below and water above, with the firmament between them as a limit. The Chinese word for limitation really denotes the joints that divide a bamboo stalk. In relation to ordinary life it means the thrift that sets fixed limits upon expenditures. In relation to the moral sphere it means the fixed limits that the superior man sets upon his actions–the limits of loyalty and disinterestedness.
The Judgement for the Future
Limitation. Success. Galling limitation must not be persevered in.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Limitations are troublesome, but they are effective. If we live economically in normal times, we are prepared for times of want. To be sparing saves us from humiliation. Limitations are also indispensable in the regulation of world conditions. In nature there are fixed limits for summer and winter, day and night, and these limits give the year its meaning. In the same way, economy, by setting fixed limits upon expenditures, acts to preserve property and prevent injury to the people. But in limitation we must observe due measure. If a man should seek to impose galling limitations upon his own nature, it would be injurious. And if he should go too far in imposing limitations on others, they would rebel. Therefore it is necessary to set limits even upon limitation.
The Image for the Future
Water over Lake: the image of Limitation. Thus the superior man Creates numbers and measure, And examines the nature of virtue and correct conduct.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
A lake is something limited. Water is inexhaustible. A lake can contain only a definite amount of the infinite quantity of water; this is its peculiarity. In human life too the individual achieves significance through discrimination and the setting of limits. Therefore what concerns us here is the problem of clearly defining these discriminations, which are, so to speak, the backbone of morality. Unlimited possibilities are not suited to man; if they existed, his life would only dissolve in the boundless. To become strong, a man's life needs the limitations ordained by duty and voluntarily accepted. The individual attains significance as a free spirit only by surrounding himself with these limitations and by determining for himself what his duty is.
49. Ko - Revolution (Molting)
60. Chieh - Limitation