豫 → 歸妹
Hexagram 16: Enthusiasm → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 2).
Line 1
初六 鳴豫。凶。
Six at the beginning means: Enthusiasm that expresses itself Brings misfortune.
Line 2
六二 介于石。不終日。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Firm as a rock. Not a whole day. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
旁行不遠，三思復返。心多畏惡，中日止舍。
Setting out sideways, not getting far; thinking thrice, turning back again. The heart is full of dread -- at midday one halts and lodges.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder breaks from the earth, but the traveler ventures only a short distance before stopping. Three times he considers, three times he turns back. Fear and aversion fill his heart; at midday he halts and takes shelter. The verse captures paralysis by overthinking — the person who starts a journey but cannot commit to it, retreating after every few steps. From Enthusiasm to the Marrying Maiden, the irony deepens. The Marrying Maiden's image is thunder above the lake — a younger sister given in marriage, an irreversible commitment. Yet the verse's subject cannot commit to anything at all. Enthusiasm that reverses itself at every threshold arrives at the Marrying Maiden's gate but cannot step through, trapped between desire and hesitation.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store