坎 → 蹇
Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
兩足四翼，飛入嘉國。寧我伯姊，與母相得。
Two feet and four wings; it flies into a fair kingdom. It brings peace to my elder sister; together with mother, they are united.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon water, yet a creature with paired feet and double wings takes flight into a blessed land. The image of two feet and four wings suggests paired-wing birds that can only fly together — creatures of mutual dependence achieving what neither could alone. Arriving in this good country, the elder sister finds peace, and mother and daughter are happily reunited. From The Abysmal to Obstruction, water pools upon the mountain, blocking the path forward. Yet the verse resolves this obstruction through familial reunion: the flight into the blessed land bypasses the mountain's barrier entirely. When relationships are restored, even the most formidable obstruction becomes irrelevant — one simply flies over it.
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