離 → 蹇
Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 履錯然。敬之。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: The footprints run crisscross. If one is seriously intent, no blame.
Line 4
九四 突如其來如。焚如。死如。棄如。
Nine in the fourth place means: Its coming is sudden; It flames up, dies down, is thrown away.
Line 5
六五 出涕沱若。戚嗟若。吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting. Good fortune.
Line 6
上九 王用出征。有嘉。折首。獲匪其醜。无咎。
Nine at the top means: The king uses him to march forth and chastise. Then it is best to kill the leaders And take captive the followers. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
東山皋洛，勇捍不服，金玦玩好，衣為身賊。
East Mountain and Gaoluo; brave and defiant, refusing to submit. Gold rings and fine playthings; garments become the body's undoing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Doubled fire meets water upon the mountain: brilliance confronts obstruction born of indulgence. The eastern mountains and the Gao-Luo region breed warriors bold and insubordinate. Golden belt-hooks and fine playthings become the body's own enemy — the garments that should protect instead ensnare. The verse warns that luxury corrupts martial virtue. Warriors who deck themselves in gold lose the very toughness that made them formidable. From The Clinging to Obstruction, fire's clarity meets the mountain blocked by water above. The obstruction here is self-inflicted: those who should climb the mountain are weighed down by their own ornaments. Fire that illuminates vanity rather than virtue only deepens the impasse, and the brave who surrender to indulgence become their own worst obstacle.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store