晉 → 益
Hexagram 35: Progress → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 晉如摧如。貞吉。罔孚。裕无咎。
Six at the beginning means: Progressing, but turned back. Perseverance brings good fortune. If one meets with no confidence, one should remain calm. No mistake.
Line 4
九四 晉如鼫鼠。貞厲。
Nine in the fourth place means: Progress like a hamster. Perseverance brings danger.
Line 5
六五 悔亡。失得勿恤。往吉无不利。
Six in the fifth place means: Remorse disappears. Take not gain and loss to heart. Undertakings bring good fortune. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
缺破不成，胎卵未生，弗見兆形。
Broken and incomplete; the egg not yet hatched. No sign or form to be seen.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire rises above the earth, but what lies ahead is broken and incomplete. The embryo has not formed, the egg has not hatched — no sign of life can yet be discerned. The verse is starkly minimal: three short phrases describing pure potentiality that has not yet crossed the threshold into actuality. Nothing is ready, nothing is visible, nothing can be predicted. From Progress to Increase, the transformation offers hope precisely because of this emptiness. Wind and thunder together stimulate growth — seeing good and moving toward it, recognizing faults and correcting them. The unhatched egg is not failure; it is the moment before Increase begins its work. What appears broken may simply be unfinished, awaiting the wind and thunder that will quicken it to life.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store