Your current situation can be depicted as "The Well" transforming into "Oppression (Exhaustion)".
In front of you lies "Water" which transforms into "Lake". That means that danger and the unknown are being transformed into joy, pleasure, and attraction. Behind you lies "Wind" which transforms into "Water". That means that penetration and following are being transformed into danger and the unknown.
The Situation
48. Ching - The Well Above (in front): K'an - The Abysmal (Water) Below (behind): Sun - The Gentle (Wind)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Wood is below, water above. The wood goes down into the earth to bring up water. The image derives from the pole-and-bucket well of ancient China. The wood represents not the buckets, which in ancient times were made of clay, but rather the wooden poles by which the water is hauled up from the well. The image also refers to the world of plants, which lift water out of the earth by means of their fibers. The well from which water is drawn conveys the further idea of an inexhaustible dispensing of nourishment.
The Judgement for the Current Situation
The Well. The town may be changed, But the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. They come and go and draw from the well. If one gets down almost to the water And the rope does not go all the way, Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
In ancient China the capital cities were sometimes moved, partly for the sake of more favorable location, partly because of a change in dynasties. The style of architecture changed in the course of centuries, but the shape of the well has remained the same from ancient times to this day. Thus the well is the symbol of that social structure which, evolved by mankind in meeting its most primitive needs, is independent of all political forms. Political structures change, as do nations, but the life of man with its needs remains eternally the same–this cannot be changed. Life is also inexhaustible. It grows neither less nor more; it exists for one and for all. The generations come and go, and all enjoy life in its inexhaustible abundance. However, there are two prerequisites for a satisfactory political or social organization of mankind. We must go down to the very foundations of life. For any merely superficial ordering of life that leaves its deepest needs unsatisfied is as ineffectual as if no attempt at order had ever been made. Carelessness–by which the jug is broken–is also disastrous. If for instance the military defense of a state is carried to such excess that it provokes wars by which the power of the state is annihilated, this is a breaking of the jug. This hexagram applies also to the individual. However men may differ in disposition and in education, the foundations of human nature are the same in everyone. And every human being can draw in the course of his education from the inexhaustible wellspring of the divine in man's nature. But here likewise two dangers threaten: a man may fail in his education to penetrate to the real roots of humanity and remain fixed in convention–a partial education of this sort is as bad as none–or he may suddenly collapse and neglect his self-development.
The Image for the Current Situation
Water over wood: the image of The Well. Thus the superior man encourages the people at their work, And exhorts them to help one another.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The trigram Sun, wood, is below, and the trigram K'an, water, is above it. Wood sucks water upward. Just as wood as an organism imitates the action of the well, which benefits all parts of the plant, the superior man organizes human society, so that, as in a plant organism, its parts co-operate for the benefit of the whole.
Interpretation of the Changing Line(s)
Line 3: The well is cleaned, but no one drinks from it. This is my heart's sorrow, For one might draw from it. If the king were clear-minded, Good fortune might be enjoyed in common.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
An able man is available. He is like a purified well whose water is drinkable. But no use is made of him. This is the sorrow of those who know him. One wishes that the prince might learn about it; this would be good fortune for all concerned.
Line 4: The well is being lined. No blame.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
True, if a well is being lined with stone, it cannot be used while the work is going on. But the work is not in vain; the result is that the water stays clear. In life also there are times when a man must put himself in order. During such a time he can do nothing for others, but his work is nonetheless valuable, because by enhancing his powers and abilities through inner development, he can accomplish all the more later on.
The Future
47. K'un - Oppression (Exhaustion) Above (in front): Tui - The Joyous (Lake) Below (behind): K'an - The Abysmal (Water)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The lake is above, water below; the lake is empty, dried up. Exhaustion is expressed in yet another way: at the top, a dark line is holding down two light lines; below, a light line is hemmed in between two dark ones. The upper trigram belongs to the principle of darkness, the lower to the principle of light. Thus everywhere superior men are oppressed and held in restraint by inferior men.
The Judgement for the Future
Oppression. Success. Perseverance. The great man brings about good fortune. No blame. When one has something to say, It is not believed.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Times of adversity are the reverse of times of success, but they can lead to success if they befall the right man. When a strong man meets with adversity, he remains cheerful despite all danger, and this cheerfulness is the source of later successes; it is that stability which is stronger than fate. He who lets his spirit be broken by exhaustion certainly has no success. But if adversity only bends a man, it creates in him a power to react that is bound in time to manifest itself. No inferior man is capable of this. Only the great man brings about good fortune and remains blameless. It is true that for the time being outward influence is denied him, because his words have no effect. Therefore in times of adversity it is important to be strong within and sparing of words.
The Image for the Future
There is no water in the lake: The image of Exhaustion. Thus the superior man stakes his life On following his will.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When the water has flowed out below, the lake must dry up and become exhausted. That is fate. This symbolizes an adverse fate in human life. In such times there is nothing a man can do but acquiesce in his fate and remain true to himself. This concerns the deepest stratum of his being, for this alone is superior to all external fate.
48. Ching - The Well
47. K'un - Oppression (Exhaustion)