坎 → 家人
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 37: The Family
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 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 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 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
三羊爭妻，相逐奔馳，終日不食，精氣竭罷。
Three rams contest a mate, chasing each other in a gallop. All day without eating; vigor and spirit utterly spent.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, desire overrides sustenance. Three rams compete for a single ewe, chasing each other in frantic circles, refusing food all day until their vital energy is utterly spent. The imagery is visceral: lust-driven exhaustion, appetites that consume the competitor rather than nourishing him. From The Abysmal to The Family, the wind should emerge from fire as warmth radiating outward from the hearth — words with substance, actions with constancy. Yet these three rams embody the Family's shadow: when desire replaces devotion, the household becomes a battlefield. The energy that should sustain the family consumes itself in rivalry, and no one eats.
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