家人 → 益
Hexagram 37: The Family → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 3).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
天馬五道，炎火分處。往來上下，住又駒亡。衣柔巾麻，相隨哭歌，凶惡如何？
Celestial horses on five roads, flames dividing their paths. Going up and coming down, the colt is lost in transit. Wearing soft cloth and hemp kerchief, weeping and singing follow each other — how dire is this evil?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind from fire scatters the family into confusion and mourning. Heavenly horses race along five roads while flames divide and spread. Movement up and down without rest, the young horse vanishes. Garments of soft cloth, towels of hemp — the mourning attire — accompany weeping and singing, and the verse asks: 'How terrible is this evil?' The imagery is chaotic and funereal: scattered fire, galloping horses, loss, and lamentation. The five roads suggest dispersal in all directions, and the funeral clothing confirms that death has entered the household. From The Family to Increase, wind and thunder revitalize through change. Yet this verse shows the grimmer face of transformation — increase sometimes comes only after devastating loss. The family must pass through mourning before renewal can begin.
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