Hexagram 12: Standstill → Hexagram 5: Waiting

Standstill
Heaven / Earth
Waiting
Water / Heaven
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).

Line 1

初六 拔茅茹。以其彙。貞吉。亨。

pulling
máothatch
by the roots
thereby
uprooting its
huìwhole cluster
zhēnpersistence
promising
hēngfulfilling

Six at the beginning means: When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind. Perseverance brings good fortune and success.

Line 2

六二 包承。小人吉。大人否。亨。

bāoembrace
chéngassignments
xiǎolesser
rénone's
promise
mature
rénhuman being's
negated
hēngfulfillment

Six in the second place means: They bear and endure; This means good fortune for inferior people. The standstill serves to help the great man to attain success.

Line 3

六三 包羞。

bāoembracing
xiūthe shame

Six in the third place means: They bear shame.

Line 4

九四 有命无咎。疇離祉。

yǒuhaving
mìnghigher purpose
no
jiùwrong
chóuthis category
distinct
zhǐhappiness

Nine in the fourth place means: He who acts at the command of the highest Remains without blame. Those of like mind partake of the blessing.

Line 6

上九 傾否。先否後喜。

qīngoverturn
the separation
xiānbefore
separation
hòuafter
rejoicing

Nine at the top means: The standstill comes to an end. First standstill, then good fortune.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven WaterThe Creative → The Deep
Lower TrigramEarth HeavenThe Receptive → The Creative

Yilin Verse

避患東西,反入禍門;糠糟不屬,憂動我心。

Fleeing trouble east and west, one stumbles into disaster's gate. Chaff and dregs cannot hold together; worry stirs my heart.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Heaven and earth stand sealed, and one who flees east and west to avoid disaster stumbles instead into the very gate of misfortune. Husband and wife drift apart like chaff and dregs that no longer hold together, and the heart is stirred with grief. From Standstill to Waiting, Pi's closure meets Xu's patient clouds gathering above heaven — rain that has not yet fallen. The verse captures the worst of both: the stagnation of Pi drives panicked flight, but Xu demands stillness. One who runs when the moment calls for waiting only accelerates the disaster. The severed bond between spouses mirrors heaven and earth's refusal to communicate, and restless motion deepens rather than resolves the separation.

The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store

Related Pages