離 → 震
Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire → Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
Line 3
九三 日昃之離。不鼓缶而歌。則大耋之嗟。凶。
Nine in the third place means: In the light of the setting sun, Men either beat the pot and sing Or loudly bewail the approach of old age. Misfortune.
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
見虵交悟，惜蚖畏惡，心乃無悔。
Seeing serpents intertwined, one is awakened; pitying the small viper, fearing the venomous. The heart then has no regret.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Doubled fire meets doubled thunder: brilliance encounters sudden awakening. One sees intertwined serpents and reaches an insight. Treasuring the small viper yet fearing the monstrous snake, the heart arrives at a state free from regret. The serpent in Chinese symbology carries both regenerative and dangerous associations. 'Seeing intertwined snakes' is an omen requiring interpretation: the observer must distinguish between the small creature worth nurturing and the large one worth fearing. From The Clinging to The Arousing, fire's steady illumination meets thunder's sudden shock. The double thunder of Zhen demands that one respond instantly to what startles. The verse resolves in composure: by accurately reading the omen — cherishing what is small, respecting what is dangerous — one acts correctly and incurs no regret.
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