无妄 → 謙
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 15: Modesty
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 无妄。往吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 无妄之災。或繫之牛。行人之得。邑人之災。
Six in the third place means: Undeserved misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the wanderer's gain, the citizen's loss.
Line 4
九四 可貞。无咎。
Nine in the fourth place means: He who can be persevering Remains without blame.
Line 5
九五 无妄之疾。勿藥有喜。
Nine in the fifth place means: Use no medicine in an illness Incurred through no fault of your own. It will pass of itself.
Line 6
上九 无妄。行有眚。无攸利。
Nine at the top means: Innocent action brings misfortune. Nothing furthers.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
東行避兵，南去不祥。西逐凶惡，北迎福生。與喜相逢。
Going east, one flees soldiers; going south, ill fortune. Going west, one meets malice; going north, blessings arise. Meeting joy along the way.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Going east invites conflict; heading south proves inauspicious. Only by turning west to drive off evil and north to welcome life does one encounter joy. The four cardinal directions are tested and only the correct orientation yields fortune. From Innocence to Modesty, the transformation reveals the geometry of humility. Qian's image of a mountain hidden within the earth — greatness that does not flaunt itself — resonates with the verse's directional logic: most paths lead to danger, and only the humble, less obvious route brings safety. The encounter with joy arrives not through bold advance but through discriminating withdrawal, choosing the one direction that welcomes life while declining the three that court disaster.
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