坤 → 需
Hexagram 2: The Receptive → Hexagram 5: Waiting
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5).
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 2
六二 直方大。不習无不利。
Six in the second place means: Straight, square, great. Without purpose, Yet nothing remains unfurthered.
Line 3
六三 含章可貞。或從王事。无成有終。
Six in the third place means: Hidden lines. One is able to remain persevering. If by chance you are in the service of a king, Seek not works, but bring to completion.
Line 5
六五 黃裳。元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: A yellow lower garment brings supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
霜降閉戶，蟄虫隱處。不見日月，與死為伍。
Frost falls, doors are sealed; hibernating creatures hide away. Seeing neither sun nor moon; companions of the dead.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Earth upon earth yields to water above heaven — Waiting. Frost descends and doors close; hibernating creatures hide in their burrows. Sun and moon vanish from sight; one keeps company with death itself. The frost signals autumn's execution season — the ancient legal custom of carrying out sentences when nature's killing energy aligns with punitive authority. Here the Receptive's nurturing earth turns cold, sealing life underground. Yet the target is Waiting, which counsels patience through danger: clouds gather above heaven, but the gentleman drinks and eats in calm confidence. From the Receptive to Waiting, the verse captures the harrowing interval between burial and emergence — the seed entombed in frozen ground must endure the long wait before spring arrives.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store