明夷 → 歸妹
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4).
Line 2
六二 明夷。夷于左股。用拯馬壯吉。
Six in the second place means: Darkening of the light injures him in the left thigh. He gives aid with the strength of a horse. Good fortune.
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 4
六四 入于左腹。獲明夷之心。于出門庭。
Six in the fourth place means: He penetrates the left side of the belly. One gets at the very heart of the darkening of the light, And leaves gate and courtyard.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
求利難國，逃去我北。復歸其城，不為吾賊。
Seeking profit, they imperiled the state; they fled and went north. They returned to their own city; they did not become our bandits.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth becomes thunder above the lake — the Marrying Maiden, where an arranged union carries an undertone of subordination. 'Seeking profit, they troubled the state and fled northward. Returning to their city, they were no longer our enemy.' An aggressor who came seeking advantage is repelled and retreats, eventually settling back where they belong and ceasing hostilities. The verse frames conflict resolution through withdrawal rather than victory — the invader leaves not because defeated but because the venture proved unprofitable. From Darkening of the Light to the Marrying Maiden, the transformation suggests that some relationships, like some alliances, work best when each party returns to their proper place. The maiden goes to her new home knowing the end is already built into the arrangement.
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