恆 → 革
Hexagram 32: Duration → Hexagram 49: Revolution
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5).
Line 1
初六 浚恆貞凶。无攸利。
Six at the beginning means: Seeking duration too hastily brings misfortune persistently. Nothing that would further.
Line 2
九二 悔亡。
Nine in the second place means: Remorse disappears.
Line 5
六五 恒其德貞。婦人吉。夫子凶。
Six in the fifth place means: Giving duration to one's character through perseverance. This is good fortune for a woman, misfortune for a man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
六月種黍,歲晚無雨,秋不宿酒,神失其所。
Planting millet in the sixth month; by year’s end, no rain falls. In autumn, no wine is stored; the spirits lose their rightful place.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder above wind, Duration's seasonal constancy, meets lake above fire — Revolution's transformative upheaval. Millet is planted in the sixth month, but by year's end no rain has come. In autumn there is no grain to brew; the spirit of the land loses its proper place. The verse describes agricultural catastrophe through failed timing: the crop cycle that Duration should sustain has been broken by drought. Without rain, the harvest fails; without grain, the autumn libation cannot be offered; without sacrifice, the territorial spirit is displaced. From Duration to Revolution, the steady seasonal order demands radical change. Lake-fire represents the caldron of transformation, but here the revolution is not chosen — it is forced by nature's refusal to cooperate. When the rains fail, the entire ritual-agricultural calendar collapses.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store