臨 → 比
Hexagram 19: Approach → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5).
Line 1
初九 咸臨貞吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Joint approach. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 2
九二 咸臨吉。无不利。
Nine in the second place means: Joint approach. Good fortune. Everything furthers.
Line 5
六五 知臨。大君之宜。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Wise approach. This is right for a great prince. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
隨時轉行，不失其常。咸樂厥類，身無咎殃。
Turning with the seasons, never losing the constant way. At ease among one kind -- the body suffers no calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth above the lake flows into water upon earth — the bonding of Holding Together. Moving with the times and adapting one's course, one never loses the constant way. All creatures delight in their own kind, and the self incurs no blame. The verse celebrates adaptive harmony: not rigid adherence to a single path but fluid responsiveness that remains anchored in principle. From Approach to Holding Together, the elder's oversight becomes lateral alliance. The lake beneath the earth of Lin transforms into water spreading across earth's surface in Bi — authority softens into fellowship, and the wise leader bonds with others not through command but through shared rhythm and mutual benefit.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store