坤 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 2: The Receptive → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 履霜堅冰至。
Six at the beginning means: When there is hoarfrost underfoot, Solid ice is not far off.
Line 4
六四 括囊。无咎无譽。
Six in the fourth place means: A tied-up sack. No blame, no praise.
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
稷為堯使，西見王母。拜請百福，賜我善子。
Ji was sent by Yao west to visit the Queen Mother. Bowing to request a hundred blessings; grant me a fine son.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth upon earth yields to fire above thunder — Biting Through. Lord Millet, sent by Emperor Yao, journeys west to visit the Queen Mother of the West. He bows and requests a hundred blessings, begging for the gift of a virtuous heir. Hou Ji, ancestor of the Zhou people, served as Shun's minister of agriculture; here he acts as Yao's envoy. The Queen Mother of the West, dwelling on Mount Kunlun above the Weak Water, guards the peaches of immortality and bestows celestial blessings. Fire and thunder, the image of Shi He, represent decisive action that bites through obstruction. From the Receptive to Biting Through, the earth's patient cultivation sends its emissary to pierce the boundary between mortal and divine, seeking the blessing that no earthly effort alone can secure.
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