Is line 5 of Brightness (Fire) in its correct place?

It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Hexagram 30, line 5

六五Line 5 of Brightness (Fire)

Six in the fifth place · 離 lí

tears in torrentssorrowthe ruler's place

爻辭 The line text

出涕沱若，戚嗟若，吉。

The fifth line, divided, shows its subject as one with tears flowing in torrents, and groaning in sorrow. There will be good fortune.

Its symbolism

六五之吉，離王公也。

'The good fortune attached to the fifth line, divided,' is due to its occupying the place of a king or a prince.

In plain words

'Tears flowing in torrents, sighing in sorrow: good fortune.' Line five is yin in the ruler's place of the upper Li, a weak line holding the brightest position, with the burning fourth line pressing from below and the strong top line above. It cannot command by force, so it responds the way the yielding does — with grief that is open and unashamed, and the text calls this good fortune. The small Image explains the verdict through position: 'it clings to the place of king and prince' (離王公也). The tradition reads the tears as the anxious conscientiousness of a ruler who feels the weight of the light; sorrow of that kind keeps the fire from becoming a conflagration.

If this line is changing

Do not hide the strain of the position you hold; openly felt concern is what keeps you worthy of it, and here it is counted as good fortune rather than weakness.

Where the line stands

A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning.
It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
It belongs to the upper trigram 離 Li (the Clinging) (fire).
It has no correspondence (無應) with line 2: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.

之卦 When this line moves

離 Brightness (Fire) becomes ䷌ 13 同人 People United

Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.

What it becomes13 · 同人 People Unitedtóng rén

The six lines of 離 Brightness (Fire)

Read 離 Brightness (Fire) for a question about

Love and relationships Work and career A yes-or-no decision

Questions about this line

What does Six in the fifth place of hexagram 30, Brightness (Fire), mean?: 'Tears flowing in torrents, sighing in sorrow: good fortune.' Line five is yin in the ruler's place of the upper Li, a weak line holding the brightest position, with the burning fourth line pressing from below and the strong top line above. It cannot command by force, so it responds the way the yielding does — with grief that is open and unashamed, and the text calls this good fortune. The small Image explains the verdict through position: 'it clings to the place of king and prince' (離王公也). The tradition reads the tears as the anxious conscientiousness of a ruler who feels the weight of the light; sorrow of that kind keeps the fire from becoming a conflagration.
What does hexagram 30 become when line 5 changes?: Brightness (Fire) becomes hexagram 13, 同人 People United: Fire rising to heaven: people gathering in the open field. Fellowship succeeds when it is public and principled rather than clannish, and it makes great undertakings possible.
Is line 5 of Brightness (Fire) in its correct place?: It is not in its correct place (不當位): a yang line in an even position or a yin line in an odd one, which the tradition reads as a line under some strain — often the reason a text sounds a warning. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.

Cast a reading Hexagram 30 in full Changing lines explained

Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).