Hexagram 6.4 — Conflict (Fourth Line)

Original Text & Translation

「不克讼，复即命，渝，安贞，吉。」 — Unable to win the lawsuit, return and submit to fate. Change your stance. Find peace in correctness. Good fortune.

The image is of someone who has entered into contention but discovers that victory is impossible or pyrrhic. Rather than escalate or persist stubbornly, they turn back, accept the situation as it is, and realign their life around what they can control. The counsel is to abandon the fight not from weakness but from wisdom — to recognize that some conflicts consume more than they could ever return.

Core Meaning

Line four sits at the threshold between the lower trigram (inner world) and upper trigram (outer world). In Conflict, this position marks the moment when external struggle must be weighed against internal peace. The line acknowledges a hard truth: you cannot prevail in this dispute through force, argument, or persistence. Continuing drains vitality and corrupts character.

Practically, this line separates ego from discernment. Ego insists on vindication and refuses to "lose." Discernment recognizes that walking away preserves something more valuable than winning — your energy, your relationships, your clarity of purpose. The text says "change your stance" (渝) — this is not capitulation but transformation. You stop fighting on their terms and reclaim your autonomy by choosing a different game entirely.

The promise of "good fortune" comes not from the conflict's outcome but from the peace and correctness (安贞) you establish by yielding. When you stop pouring yourself into an unwinnable contest, resources flow back into endeavors that actually matter. Contentment replaces bitterness. Space opens for unexpected resolutions.

Symbolism & Imagery

The fourth line's position — just entering the outer trigram — symbolizes the moment you step back from the public arena of dispute and return to your inner ground. Heaven (above) and Water (below) pull in opposite directions; the fourth line is caught in that tension. The wisdom here is to stop resisting the pull and instead flow with what is inevitable, like water finding its level.

The imagery of "returning" (复) evokes the idea of retracing steps, admitting that the path taken has led to a dead end, and choosing a new direction. This is not shame — it is navigation. Sailors tack into the wind; they do not ram straight into storms. Similarly, yielding in conflict is a tactical maneuver that preserves the vessel for journeys that matter.

This line also addresses the seduction of being "right." Even if your position has merit, the fourth line asks: at what cost? Righteousness that destroys peace, health, or relationships is a hollow victory. "Submit to fate" means accepting that some outcomes are beyond your control, and that your power lies in how you respond, not in forcing a particular result.

Action Guidance

Career & Business

• Withdraw from unwinnable disputes: if a negotiation, lawsuit, or internal political battle is draining more than it could ever return, exit gracefully. Protect your reputation by being the one who chose peace.
• Reframe the problem: instead of "How do I win this argument?" ask "What do I actually need, and is there another way to get it?" Often the real goal can be met without the fight.
• Document and disengage: if you must retreat from a contentious project or partnership, do so cleanly. Summarize your position, state your boundaries, and step back without lingering resentment.
• Redirect energy: the resources you were spending on conflict — time, attention, emotional bandwidth — now flow into projects with better odds and clearer alignment.
• Communicate the shift: let stakeholders know you're changing course. Frame it as strategic prioritization, not defeat. "We've decided to focus our efforts where we can have greater impact."

Love & Relationships

• Stop trying to win the argument: if a recurring conflict has no resolution, agree to disagree or accept that this issue will remain unresolved. Protect the relationship by not making it a battleground.
• Apologize or concede strategically: even if you believe you're right, sometimes peace is worth more than vindication. A sincere "I don't want to fight about this anymore" can reset the dynamic.
• Change the terms: if a relationship pattern is toxic, don't keep engaging on the same terms. Set new boundaries, shift the context, or take space.
• Let go of needing them to understand: you cannot force someone to see your perspective. Release the need for their validation and find your own peace.
• Redirect affection: if a relationship is chronically adversarial, consider whether your energy is better spent nurturing connections that are naturally harmonious.

Health & Inner Work

• Release the stress of fighting: chronic conflict floods the body with cortisol. Yielding — genuinely letting go — allows the nervous system to downregulate.
• Practice acceptance: some health challenges, limitations, or life circumstances cannot be "beaten." Acceptance does not mean passivity; it means working skillfully with what is, rather than exhausting yourself in denial.
• Shift from fixing to soothing: if you've been at war with your body, your habits, or your mind, try a gentler approach. What would it look like to make peace with yourself?
• Journaling prompt: "What am I fighting that I could instead accept? What would change if I stopped resisting this?"
• Meditation on yielding: visualize tension as a clenched fist. Practice opening the hand, releasing the grip, and noticing the relief that follows.

Finance & Strategy

• Cut losing positions: if an investment, business line, or strategy is clearly failing, exit before losses compound. Preserve capital for better opportunities.
• Settle disputes: if a financial conflict (contract dispute, debt collection, partnership dissolution) is escalating costs, consider settlement. Legal fees and stress often exceed the contested amount.
• Reframe sunk costs: money or time already spent is gone. The question is only: what is the best move from here? Yielding frees you from the fallacy of "I've come this far, I can't stop now."
• Redirect capital: the funds you release from a bad bet can be redeployed into opportunities with better risk/reward profiles.
• Accept market reality: if the market, economy, or competitive landscape has shifted against your thesis, adapt rather than insist. Flexibility preserves wealth; rigidity destroys it.

Timing, Signals, and Readiness

How do you know it's time to yield? Look for these signals: (1) the conflict has persisted despite your best efforts, with no sign of resolution; (2) the emotional, financial, or relational cost is escalating; (3) you notice bitterness, exhaustion, or obsession creeping into your thoughts; (4) trusted advisors suggest you let it go; and (5) you can imagine a peaceful alternative, even if it means "losing."

If you feel relief at the thought of walking away, that is your inner wisdom speaking. If you feel only shame or fear of judgment, examine whether ego is holding you hostage. The fourth line teaches that true strength is knowing when to stop fighting — not because you are weak, but because you are wise enough to choose peace over pyrrhic victory.

Timing-wise, this line often appears when you are on the verge of escalation — about to file the lawsuit, send the angry email, issue the ultimatum. It is a stop sign. Pause. Breathe. Consider the path of return. The good fortune promised comes not from winning the fight but from reclaiming your life from it.

When This Line Moves

A moving fourth line signals a pivotal shift from contention to resolution. It often indicates that your decision to yield will catalyze unexpected positive developments — a softening in the other party, a third option you hadn't seen, or simply the inner peace that comes from releasing a burden. The resulting hexagram (determined by your casting method) will show the new configuration of forces once you stop fighting.

Practical takeaway: do not yield halfway. If you decide to return and submit to fate, do so fully. Half-hearted withdrawal — where you stop fighting but nurse resentment — brings no benefit. True yielding is a complete inner shift: you change your stance (渝), you find peace in correctness (安贞), and you redirect your life force toward what you can actually build, rather than what you cannot control.

Watch for the relief and clarity that follow. Often within days of genuinely letting go, new opportunities appear, relationships improve, and your energy rebounds. This is the "good fortune" the line promises — not as a reward for surrender, but as the natural result of no longer bleeding vitality into a losing battle.

Concise Summary

Hexagram 6.4 is the wisdom of strategic retreat. It asks you to recognize when a conflict cannot be won and to choose peace over persistence. "Return and submit to fate" is not defeat — it is the reclamation of your autonomy, energy, and clarity. By changing your stance and finding contentment in correctness, you transform potential disaster into quiet good fortune. Let go of the fight. Reclaim your life.