坎 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 2
九二 坎有險。求小得。
Nine in the second place means: The abyss is dangerous. One should strive to attain small things only.
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
車驚人墮，兩輪脫去。行者不至，主人憂懼。結締復解，夜明為喜。
The cart lurches, the rider falls; both wheels fly off. The traveler does not arrive; the host is filled with dread. Bonds are tied then loosed again; when night turns bright, there is joy.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, the carriage lurches and spills its rider. The vehicle startles, the passenger tumbles, and both wheels fly off — the traveler never arrives, leaving the host anxious and afraid. Bonds are tied and then unraveled. But dawn breaks and brings relief: what seemed ruined resolves in morning light. From The Abysmal to Biting Through, fire and thunder combine to enforce clarity. The tangled situation — accident, absence, broken agreements — requires decisive intervention, as lightning illuminates what darkness obscured. The night's confusion yields to the sharp bite of judicial clarity, and what was knotted is cut clean through.
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