觀 → 明夷
Hexagram 20: Contemplation → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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 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
家在海隅，橈短流深；企立望宋，無木以趨。
The home stands at the sea edge, the oars are short, the current deep; standing on tiptoe gazing toward Song -- there is no timber for the crossing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over earth peers toward a distant shore but cannot reach it. The home stands at the sea's edge; the oar is too short for the river's depth. One stands on tiptoe gazing toward Song, but there is no timber to build a boat. Every element of the verse speaks to frustrated longing: the distance is visible, the destination named, yet the means of crossing are absent. Earth over fire forms Darkening of the Light, where brilliance sinks beneath the earth. From Contemplation to Darkening of the Light, the transformation is poignant: the observer can see what shines across the water, but the light descends and the crossing remains impossible. Vision without means is its own form of darkness.
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