明夷 → 益
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 5, 6).
Line 3
九三 明夷于南狩。得其大首。不可疾貞。
Nine in the third place means: Darkening of the light during the hunt in the south. Their great leader is captured. One must not expect perseverance too soon.
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.
Line 6
上六 不明晦。初登于天。後入于地。
Six at the top means: Not light but darkness. First he climbed up to heaven, Then plunged into the depths of the earth.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鵠思其雄，欲隨鳳東。順理羽翼，出次須日。中留北邑，復反其室。
The swallow carries mud, building a nest under the south eaves. Autumn wind arrives suddenly — the nest is finished, but the one it was built for has gone.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth stirs as wind and thunder together — Increase, where what is above gives to what is below. This verse is marked as rewritten; the original reads: 'The swan-goose longs for her mate, wishing to follow the phoenix east. She readies her plumage, sets out and waits for the day. But she is detained in the northern town and returns to her chamber.' The original depicts a female bird preparing for a grand journey to join a worthy companion, only to be held back and forced home. The longing is real but the flight never happens. From Darkening of the Light to Increase, the transformation promises augmentation — wind and thunder reinforcing each other — but the original verse captures a thwarted increase: the gift of union is offered, the plumage is groomed, yet circumstances conspire to return the bird to where she started.
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