復 → 賁
Hexagram 24: Return → Hexagram 22: Grace
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
Line 3
六三 頻復。厲。无咎。
Six in the third place means: Repeated return. Danger. No blame.
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
孟春醴酒，使君壽考。南山多福，宜行賈市。稻梁雌雉，所至利喜。
Sweet wine in early spring; may it grant the lord long life. The Southern Mountain is rich in blessings; fit for trade and commerce. Rice and grain, the hen pheasant — wherever one goes, profit and joy.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder returns beneath the earth as the first month of spring brings sweet wine for ceremony. The lord is wished long life, and the southern mountains bestow abundant blessings. The verse recommends commerce and trade, and the scene fills with plenty: rice, sorghum, and hen pheasants, every destination yielding profit and delight. This is a vision of renewal fulfilled — the returning yang expressed as seasonal festivity, agricultural bounty, and commercial prosperity. From Return to Grace, fire glows beneath the mountain, illuminating without consuming. The transformation from raw return to refined adornment mirrors the shift from spring's crude energy to the cultured elegance of celebration and exchange.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store