家人 → 否
Hexagram 37: The Family → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4).
Line 1
初九 閑有家。悔亡。
Nine at the beginning means: Firm seclusion within the family. Remorse disappears.
Line 3
九三 家人嗃嗃。悔厲吉。婦子嘻嘻。終吝。
Nine in the third place means: When tempers flare up in the family, Too great severity brings remorse. Good fortune nonetheless. When woman and child dally and laugh It leads in the end to humiliation.
Line 4
六四 富家大吉。
Six in the fourth place means: She is the treasure of the house. Great good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
東求金玉，反得弊石。名曰无宜，字曰醜惡，眾所賤薄。
Seeking gold and jade in the east, instead he obtains broken stones. Named 'without worth,' styled 'ugly and vile'; despised and scorned by all.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind from fire sends the family seeking treasure eastward, hoping for gold and jade. Instead they find only broken stones. The acquisition is named 'Unsuitable' and styled 'Ugly' — universally scorned and despised. The eastward quest for precious things that yields only worthless rubble is a parable of misguided ambition: what glittered from afar turns out to be dross upon inspection. From The Family to Standstill, heaven and earth refuse to communicate; their energies separate and stagnate. The family's venture into the world meets a wall of non-exchange. Standstill teaches that when the cosmic channel is blocked, even sincere effort meets rejection. The broken stones are not merely bad luck — they are the signature of an era when heaven and earth have turned their backs on each other.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store