復 → 否
Hexagram 24: Return → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 不遠復。无祗悔。元吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Return from a short distance. No need for remorse. Great good fortune.
Line 4
六四 中行獨復。
Six in the fourth place means: Walking in the midst of others, One returns alone.
Line 5
六五 敦復。无悔。
Six in the fifth place means: Noblehearted return. No remorse.
Line 6
上六 迷復。凶。有災眚。用行師。終有大敗。以其國君凶。至于十年不克征。
Six at the top means: Missing the return. Misfortune. Misfortune from within and without. If armies are set marching in this way, One will in the end suffer a great defeat, Disastrous for the ruler of the country. For ten years It will not be possible to attack again.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
千歲舊室，將有困急。荷糧負囊，出門直北。
An ancient house of a thousand years; soon to face dire straits. Shouldering provisions, carrying a sack; out the gate, heading due north.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder stirs below the earth, but the ancient household of a thousand years faces sudden crisis. The dweller shoulders provisions and slings a bag, stepping out the gate to head due north — the direction of flight and exile in classical geography. The image is stark: a lineage that has endured for generations is uprooted in a single emergency, reduced to a refugee carrying grain. From Return to Standstill, heaven and earth cease their communication, and the gentleman withdraws to preserve his virtue. The transformation captures the moment when return becomes impossible and survival demands departure. What was built over centuries dissolves, and the only return possible is internal — carrying one's integrity northward into the unknown.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store