同人无妄

Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 25: Innocence

同人
Fellowship
Heaven / Fire
无妄
Innocence
Heaven / Thunder
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 3).

Line 3

九三 伏戎于莽。升其高陵。三歲不興。

cache
róngweapons
in
mǎngunderbrush
shēngclimbing up
one's
gāohighest
línghills
sānthree
suìyears
of
xīngexuberance

Nine in the third place means: He hides weapons in the thicket; He climbs the high hill in front of it. For three years he does not rise up.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramHeaven Heaven
Lower TrigramFire ThunderThe Clinging → The Arousing

Yilin Verse

負牛上山,力劣行難;烈風雨雪,遮遏我前;中道復還,憂者得歡。

Bearing an ox up the mountain; strength fails, the way is hard. Fierce wind, rain, and snow block the way before us. Midway one turns back; the worried one finds joy.

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

Commentary

Heaven and fire form Fellowship, but the road tests every bond. Shouldering an ox uphill, strength falters and steps stall. Fierce wind, rain, and snow block the way ahead. Then the verse pivots: midway through, one turns back, and those who worried find their joy again. The retreat is not defeat but wisdom — recognizing when the mountain will not yield. From Fellowship to Innocence, the transformation reframes surrender as alignment with heaven's timing. Thunder rolls beneath heaven in Innocence; nature acts without ulterior motive. The return home, abandoning the impossible climb, is itself the innocent act — going where nature allows rather than forcing the path.

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