坤 → 觀
Hexagram 2: The Receptive → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 5, 6).
Line 5
六五 黃裳。元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
Line 6
上六 龍戰于野。其血玄黃。
Six at the top means: Dragons fight in the meadow. Their blood is black and yellow.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
北辰紫宮，衣冠立中。含和建德，常受天福。
The North Star and the Purple Palace; robed and crowned, standing at the center. Embracing harmony, establishing virtue; always receiving heaven’s blessing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth upon earth transforms into wind above earth — Contemplation. The Pole Star dwells in the Purple Palace; robed and crowned, one stands at the center. Embracing harmony and establishing virtue, one constantly receives heaven's blessings. The Purple Palace (Zigong) is the celestial enclosure surrounding the Pole Star — the cosmic seat of the emperor. Wind moving over the earth, the image of Guan, shows the ruler surveying all directions from a fixed center. The verse captures Contemplation's essence: the sovereign who stands still at the axis while influence radiates outward like wind. From the Receptive to Contemplation, the earth that carried all things now gazes upward at the cosmic model of governance — centered, virtuous, and effortlessly influential.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store