臨 → 離
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 2
九二 咸臨吉。无不利。
Nine in the second place means: Joint approach. Good fortune. Everything furthers.
Line 3
六三 甘臨。无攸利。既憂之。无咎。
Six in the third place means: Comfortable approach. Nothing that would further. If one is induced to grieve over it, One becomes free of blame.
Line 4
六四 至臨。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Complete approach. No blame.
Line 6
上六 敦臨。吉。无咎。
Six at the top means: Greathearted approach. Good fortune. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
臨溪蟠枝,雖恐不危,樂以笑歌。
Leaning over the creek on a winding branch; though one fears, there is no danger -- delighting in song and laughter.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake meets doubled fire — the Clinging's luminous clarity. Leaning over the stream beside a gnarled, coiling branch, one feels momentary fear but faces no real danger, and gives way to song and laughter. The image is pastoral and vivid: a figure perched on a twisted bough overhanging a creek, heart briefly racing at the height, then relaxing into delight. From Approach to the Clinging, the lake's grounding presence transforms into fire's clear illumination. The fear dissolves because the danger proves illusory — doubled fire shows things as they truly are, and what seemed precarious is merely picturesque. Laughter replaces anxiety when clarity reveals the situation is safe.
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