Hexagram 35: Progress → Hexagram 5: Waiting

Progress
Fire / Earth
Waiting
Water / Heaven
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 6 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Line 1

初六 晉如摧如。貞吉。罔孚。裕无咎。

jìn^expansion
it may seem that v
cuī^ overwhelmed
is to be
zhēnbut persistence
is promising
wǎnguse wits
for trust
and be tolerant
no
jiùblame

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 2

六二 晉如愁如。貞吉。受茲介福。于其王母。

jìn^ expansion
it may seem that v
chóu^ anxious
is to be
zhēnbut persistence
is promising
shòuaccept
these present
jièboundary
as (if
from
one's (own)
wánggrand-
mother [i.e. graciously and gratefully]

Six in the second place means: Progressing, but in sorrow. Perseverance brings good fortune. Then one obtains great happiness from one's ancestress.

Line 3

六三 眾允悔亡。

zhòngmany
yǔnpermission
huǐregret(s)
wángpass

Six in the third place means: All are in accord. Remorse disappears.

Line 4

九四 晉如鼫鼠。貞厲。

jìnadvancing
just
shíthe squirrelly
shǔrodent
zhēnpersistence
is harsh

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。

huǐregret(s)
wángpass
shīabout
and gain
are not to be
taken to heart
wǎngsimply to go
is promising
without
doubt
worthwhile

Six in the fifth place means: Remorse disappears. Take not gain and loss to heart. Undertakings bring good fortune. Everything serves to further.

Line 6

上九 晉其角。維用伐邑。厲吉无咎。貞吝。

jìnadvancing
one's
jiǎohorns
wéilimit
yòngthis practice
to subjugate
of the home town
that harsh
is promising
is not
jiùto be blamed
zhēnbut persistence
lìnis embarrassment

Nine at the top means: Making progress with the horns is permissible Only for the purpose of punishing one's own city. To be conscious of danger brings good fortune. No blame. Perseverance brings humiliation.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramFire WaterThe Clinging → The Deep
Lower TrigramEarth HeavenThe Receptive → The Creative

Yilin Verse

前涉溽暑,解不可取,離河三里,敗我利市,老牛病馬,去之何悔?

Wading forward through sweltering heat; relief cannot be seized. Three li from the river; my profitable market is ruined. An old ox, a sick horse — what regret in letting them go?

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Fire rises above the earth, but the traveler advances into sweltering heat with no relief in sight. Wading through midsummer's oppressive humidity, unable to find respite, stranded three li from the river — commerce is ruined and the market trip fails. An old ox and a sick horse: what regret is there in letting them go? The verse layers misfortune upon misfortune, each image of exhaustion compounding the last. The merchant who presses forward at the wrong season, with broken-down animals and no access to water, embodies futile persistence. From Progress to Waiting, the transformation is apt: clouds gather above heaven but the rain has not yet come. True wisdom here lies in patience — knowing when advance is premature and rest is the only profitable course.

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