坎 → 大有
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 14: Great Possession
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 習坎。入于坎窞。凶。
Six at the beginning means: Repetition of the Abysmal. In the abyss one falls into a pit. Misfortune.
Line 3
六三 來之坎坎。險且枕。入于坎窞。勿用。
Six in the third place means: Forward and backward, abyss on abyss. In danger like this, pause at first and wait, Otherwise you will fall into a pit in the abyss. Do not act this way.
Line 4
六四 樽酒簋貳。用缶。納約自牖。終无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: A jug of wine, a bowl of rice with it; Earthen vessels Simply handed in through the Window. There is certainly no blame in this.
Line 5
九五 坎不盈。祗既平。无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: The abyss is not filled to overflowing, It is filled only to the rim. No blame.
Line 6
上六 係用徽纆。寘于叢棘。三歲不得。凶。
Six at the top means: Bound with cords and ropes, Shut in between thorn-hedged prison walls: For three years one does not find the way. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
棘鉤我襦，為絆所拘，靈巫拜禱，禍不成災。東山之邑，中有土服，可以饒飽。
Thorns hook my jacket; I am caught and held. The spirit shaman bows and prays; disaster does not become calamity. In the town east of the mountain, there is fertile earth; it can provide abundance.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, thorns snag the traveler's robe. Thorn-hooks catch at the jacket, tangling and trapping, but a spirit-medium prays and bows, and the threatened disaster fails to materialize. Then the verse shifts: in the settlements east of the mountains lies fertile land with rich soil, enough to nourish abundantly. The structure moves from entanglement through ritual intercession to material reward. From The Abysmal to Great Possession, perilous water gives way to fire blazing in heaven — what was dark and entangling opens into radiant abundance. The medium's prayer is the pivot: proper invocation transforms obstruction into blessing, and the eastern lands deliver their harvest.
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