復 → 睽
Hexagram 24: Return → Hexagram 38: Opposition
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
Line 2
六二 休復。吉。
Six in the second place means: Quiet return. 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 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
白馬騧騮，生乳不休。富我商人，得利饒優。
White horses, dun and bay; breeding and foaling without cease. Enriching our merchants; gaining profit, plentiful and fine.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder returns beneath the earth, and with it come white horses, dun horses, and bays, breeding ceaselessly. The merchant grows wealthy, profits flowing generously. Horses in the ancient world were both military assets and commercial capital — a herd that reproduces without pause represents wealth multiplying organically. The variety of coat colors (white, dun, bay) suggests a diverse and robust stock. From Return to Opposition, fire above and lake below, two forces diverging in nature yet cooperating through difference. The transformation suggests that the merchant's prosperity arises precisely from navigating opposites: buying where prices are low, selling where they are high, profiting from the very distances that separate markets.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store