咸 → 中孚
Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 咸其拇。
Six at the beginning means: The influence shows itself in the big toe.
Line 2
六二 咸其腓。凶。居吉。
Six in the second place means: The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Tarrying brings good fortune.
Line 3
九三 咸其股。執其隨。往吝。
Nine in the third place means: The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.
Line 4
九四 貞吉悔亡。憧憧往來。朋從爾思。
Nine in the fourth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. If a man is agitated in mind, And his thoughts go hither and thither, Only those friends On whom he fixes his conscious thoughts Will follow.
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
三頭六月，道畏難宿，寒苦之國，利不可得。
Three heads in the sixth month; the road is fearsome, hard to find lodging. A land of cold and hardship; profit cannot be had.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake upon a mountain, but the landscape offers no rest. Three passes and the sixth-month heat — the road is frightening and no lodging can be found. This is a cold and bitter land where profit cannot be obtained. The 'three heads' (三頭) may refer to three mountain passes, and 'sixth month' (六月) to the height of summer when travel is most punishing. The combination of impassable terrain and hostile climate makes any venture futile. From Influence to Inner Truth, the mountain's receptive openness becomes wind above a lake — the image of trust penetrating hearts. Yet the verse presents the conditions under which Inner Truth cannot take root: when the environment is too harsh, when every external circumstance conspires against connection, even sincerity finds no purchase. Truth requires a minimum of shelter to survive.
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