履 → 益
Hexagram 10: Treading → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 4).
Line 2
九二 履道坦坦。幽人貞吉。
Nine in the second place means: Treading a smooth, level course. The perseverance of a dark man Brings good fortune.
Line 4
九四 履虎尾。愬愬終吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: He treads on the tail of the tiger. Caution and circumspection Lead ultimately to good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
𠾑命止車，和合兩家；蛾眉皓齒，二國率殭。
He commands the carriage to halt; uniting and harmonizing two households. Moth-brow and gleaming teeth; the two states lead their stiffened hosts.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the lake, and a command halts the chariot to unite two families. A beautiful woman — moth-browed and white-toothed — stands at the center of the arrangement, and two states are bound together through marriage alliance. The verse describes the ancient practice of diplomatic marriage: political unions sealed through the gift of a bride, with beauty serving as the visible emblem of goodwill between powers. From Treading to Increase, wind and thunder reinforce each other. The transformation reveals how correct diplomatic conduct multiplies strength: when two houses are properly joined, both gain. The wedding chariot stops not from weakness but from the protocol that makes alliance possible.
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