乾 → 節
Hexagram 1: The Creative → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 6).
Line 3
九三 君子終日乾乾。夕惕若厲。无咎。
Nine in the third place means: All day long the superior man is creatively active. At nightfall his mind is still beset with cares. Danger. No blame.
Line 4
九四 或躍在淵。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Wavering flight over the depths. No blame.
Line 6
上九 亢龍有悔。
Nine at the top means: Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
龍角博預，位至公卿。世祿久長，起動安寧。
Dragon Horn, esteemed and favored; position reaches Duke and Minister. Hereditary emolument, long-lasting; rising and acting in peace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
The Dragon Horn star foretells advancement — one's position reaches the rank of duke or minister. Hereditary emoluments endure long, and in all ventures one finds peace. In Han-dynasty astrology, the Dragon Horn (Jiao, the first lunar mansion) governed spring and new beginnings; its favorable aspect predicted career ascent. From Creative to Limitation, water above the lake — measured boundaries that enable rather than constrain. Jie's counsel is to establish regulations and evaluate conduct, the very framework that makes stable office-holding possible. The verse shows Limitation at its most benevolent: structured boundaries create the conditions for lasting rank and prosperity. Without the lake's banks, the water overflows; with them, it sustains generation after generation.
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