觀 → 大壯
Hexagram 20: Contemplation → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 6 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 童觀。小人无咎。君子吝。
Six at the beginning means: Boy like contemplation. For an inferior man, no blame. For a superior man, humiliation.
Line 2
六二 闚觀。利女貞。
Six in the second place means: Contemplation through the crack of the door. Furthering for the perseverance of a woman.
Line 3
六三 觀我生進退。
Six in the third place means: Contemplation of my life Decides the choice Between advance and retreat.
Line 4
六四 觀國之光。利用賓于王。
Six in the fourth place means: Contemplation of the light of the kingdom. It furthers one to exert influence as the guest of a king.
Line 5
九五 觀我生。君子无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: Contemplation of my life. The superior man is without blame.
Line 6
上九 觀其生。君子无咎。
Nine at the top means: Contemplation of his life. The superior man is without blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
心志無良，昌披妄行；觸抵墻壁，不見戶房。
The heart intent is unwholesome, rashly rushing about in wild pursuit; crashing into wall after wall -- one cannot find door or room.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over earth watches a man blunder without direction. His heart and will lack goodness; he rampages wildly and recklessly. Crashing into walls on every side, he cannot find the door to his own room. The image is of brute force misdirected — a bull-like charge that hits only stone. Thunder above heaven forms Great Power, which warns against misusing strength: the ram that butts into a hedge gets its horns tangled. From Contemplation to Great Power, the transformation is cautionary: power without vision is self-destructive. The verse mirrors Great Power's own warning — non-ritual action leads to entanglement. The man who cannot see the door despite having walls all around him embodies strength blind to its own direction.
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