頤 → 震
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 6).
Line 4
六四 顛頤。吉。虎視眈眈。其欲逐逐。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Turning to the summit For provision of nourishment Brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes Like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Line 6
上九 由頤。厲吉。利涉大川。
Nine at the top means: The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
從商近游,飽食無憂。囹圄之困,中子見囚。
Following trade on a short journey; well-fed and without worry. The hardship of the prison cell; the middle son is found in chains.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder yields to doubled thunder — the Arousing, shock upon shock. Following the merchants on a nearby journey, one eats well without worry. Then the scene fractures: the prison's confinement, and the middle son is found captive. The verse splits between comfort and catastrophe, between the nourished traveler and the imprisoned kin. The 'middle son' held in prison recalls the trigram Kan (middle son in the family metaphor), associated with danger and entrapment. From Nourishment to the Arousing, the transformation jolts: doubled thunder shatters complacency. What seemed a well-fed journey conceals a family member's peril. The Arousing demands that one confront hidden shocks rather than feast in ignorance.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store