明夷 → 中孚
Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light → Hexagram 61: Inner Truth
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5, 6).
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 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
西上九陂，往來留連。止須時日，虛與有德。
Westward, ascending the nine reservoirs; coming and going, lingering on. Halting to await the proper day; emptiness yields to virtue.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire beneath the earth meets wind upon the lake — Inner Truth, where sincerity penetrates to the core. 'Ascending westward past nine slopes, lingering back and forth along the way. Stopping to await the right day — offering emptiness to those of virtue.' The journey west past multiple barriers suggests a pilgrimage or diplomatic mission, undertaken with deliberation rather than haste. The closing phrase 'xu yu you de' — offering emptiness (or reserves) to the virtuous — resonates with Inner Truth's hollow center: the open space within the hexagram that allows sincerity to resonate like wind crossing an open lake. From Darkening of the Light to Inner Truth, the transformation reveals that the suppressed light is recovered not through assertion but through receptive sincerity — making space for truth to enter.
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