明夷 → 蹇
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
Line 1
初九 明夷于飛。垂其翼。君子于行。三日不食。有攸往。主人有言。
Nine at the beginning means: Darkening of the light during flight. He lowers his wings. The superior man does not eat for three days On his wanderings. But he has somewhere to go. The host has occasion to gossip about him.
Line 5
六五 箕子之明夷。利貞。
Six in the fifth place means: Darkening of the light as with Prince Chi. Perseverance furthers.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鹿得美草，鳴呼其友。九族和穆，不憂飢乏。
The deer finds fine grass and calls out to its friends. The nine clans dwell in harmony; they do not worry over hunger or want.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth meets water upon the mountain — Obstruction, where the path forward is blocked and one must turn inward. Yet the verse sings of abundance: 'A deer finds fine grass and calls out to its companions. The nine clans are harmonious and content; they do not worry about hunger or want.' The deer's generous call — sharing its discovery rather than hoarding — echoes the Shijing's 'Lu Ming' ode, a banquet poem celebrating hospitality among kinsmen. From Darkening of the Light to Obstruction, the transformation reveals that when external progress is impossible, the strength of internal bonds becomes paramount. The deer that calls its friends to the meadow builds the very community that will sustain everyone through the mountain's impassable terrain.
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