咸 → 離
Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 咸其拇。
Six at the beginning means: The influence shows itself in the big toe.
Line 5
九五 咸其脢。无悔。
Nine in the fifth place means: The influence shows itself in the back of the neck. No remorse.
Line 6
上六 咸其輔頰舌。
Six at the top means: The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
一身三口，語無所主。東西南北，迷惑失道。
One body, three mouths; words with no clear master. East, west, south, north; bewildered, losing the way.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake upon a mountain, but the body has one torso and three mouths, each speaking a different thing — words have no master. East, west, south, north — bewildered and lost in every direction. The 'three mouths' suggest conflicting counsel from multiple advisors, none aligned, creating paralysis rather than clarity. When everyone speaks and no one listens, direction dissolves entirely. From Influence to the Clinging, the mountain's receptive openness becomes doubled fire — brightness upon brightness, the sage's illumination cast across the four quarters. Yet here the doubled light only exposes confusion: what should be clarity of vision instead reveals that there is no coherent direction to illuminate. The Clinging requires something to cling to; without a unified voice, fire flickers without purpose.
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