无妄 → 歸妹
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 5, 6).
Line 2
六二 不耕穫。不菑畬。則利有攸往。
Six in the second place means: If one does not count on the harvest while plowing, Nor on the use of the ground while clearing it, It furthers one to undertake something.
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
渡河踰水，濡洿其尾。不為禍憂。捕魚遇蟹，利得無幾。
Fording the river, crossing the water; wetting and muddying one's tail. Not worried by misfortune. Catching fish, meeting a crab; the gain amounts to little.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Crossing the river and fording the stream, one's tail gets wet and muddied — but this brings no real worry. Casting a net for fish, one catches only crabs instead — the profit is negligible. From Innocence to the Marrying Maiden, the transformation captures misaligned expectations in the most intimate of transactions. Guimei's image of thunder above the lake represents the younger sister given in marriage — an arrangement driven by necessity rather than ideal. The wet tail recalls the Yijing's recurring fox-crossing image: getting wet means the crossing was imperfect but survivable. The crab instead of fish mirrors Guimei's secondary status — not what was hoped for, but not a disaster either. Modest returns from a compromised venture.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store