咸 → 小過
Hexagram 31: Influence → Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 咸其拇。
Six at the beginning means: The influence shows itself in the big toe.
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 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
驚雀衘茅，以生孚乳，昆弟六人，姣好悌孝，各同心願，和悅相樂。
The startled sparrow carries thatch; to birth and nurse its young. Six brothers; handsome, respectful, and filial. Each sharing the same heart's wish; in harmony and joy together.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
A lake upon a mountain, and a startled sparrow carries straw in its beak to build a nest for its brood. Six brothers grow up handsome and filial, each sharing the same wish in their hearts, living in harmony and mutual delight. The image moves from alarm to nurture to concord: the bird's instinctive nest-building, prompted by a fright, produces the shelter in which a harmonious family thrives. The 'six brothers' (昆弟六人) living in 'accord and joy' (和悅相樂) is the verse's destination — a small community bound by shared virtue. From Influence to Small Exceeding, the mountain's receptive openness becomes thunder above the mountain — the small bird that exceeds its station by flying high. Small Exceeding counsels modest overreach: the sparrow may aim higher than expected, and six brothers in perfect harmony slightly exceed what the world demands. Grace lies in the excess of goodness.
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