隨 → 蹇
Hexagram 17: Following → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4).
Line 1
初九 官有渝。貞吉。出門交有功。
Nine at the beginning means: The standard is changing. Perseverance brings good fortune. To go out of the door in company Produces deeds.
Line 3
六三 係丈夫。失小子。隨有求得。利居貞。
Six in the third place means: If one clings to the strong man, One loses the little boy. Through following one finds what one seeks. It furthers one to remain persevering.
Line 4
九四 隨有獲。貞凶。有孚在道以明。何咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: Following creates success. Perseverance brings misfortune. To go one's way with sincerity brings clarity. How could there be blame in this?
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
戴缾望天，不見星辰；願小失大，福逃於外。
Balancing a jar upon the head, gazing skyward; one sees no stars. Coveting the small, one loses the great -- fortune flees beyond reach.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rests within the lake, but someone balances a jar on their head and gazes at the sky, unable to see the stars. Wishing for something small, they lose what is great; fortune flees beyond reach. The image is absurd and instructive: wearing a vessel as a hat, one blocks one's own vision — the very act of grasping at a petty gain obscures the vast canopy of possibility overhead. From Following to Obstruction, water pools atop the mountain in Jian, blocking the forward path. The verse diagnoses how obstruction begins internally: the jar is self-imposed. One who follows trivial desires into blindness creates the very impediment that Jian's icy mountain road then makes impassable.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store