剝 → 觀
Hexagram 23: Splitting Apart → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 5).
Line 5
六五 貫魚。以宮人寵。无不利。
Six in the fifth place means: A shoal of fishes. Favor comes through the court ladies. Everything acts to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
王母多福，天祿所伏。居之寵光，君子有福。
The Queen Mother, rich in blessings; where heaven's bounty rests. Dwelling in splendor and favor; the noble man is blessed.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain upon earth decays, and wind sweeps across the earth — Contemplation, the sovereign surveying his realm. The Queen Mother of the West bestows manifold blessings; heaven's bounty settles here. One dwells in honored radiance, and the gentleman receives his fortune. The Queen Mother (Wang Mu) is the supreme goddess of Kunlun, guardian of immortality's peaches and dispenser of celestial grace. Her presence signals divine favor beyond human contrivance. From Splitting Apart to Contemplation, the mountain that crumbled was man-made order; what replaces it is the cosmic gaze of wind over earth. The gentleman who receives blessing does so not through striving but through alignment with heaven's pattern — the wind observes all, and Wang Mu rewards those who stand in the right place with open hands.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store