家人 → 萃
Hexagram 37: The Family → Hexagram 45: Gathering Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
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.
Line 6
上九 有孚威如。終吉。
Nine at the top means: His work commands respect. In the end good fortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
出門无妄，動作失利。銜憂懷禍，使我多悴。
He steps out the door into recklessness; every action brings loss. He holds worry in his mouth, bears disaster in his heart; it leaves us haggard and worn.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind from fire urges the family to venture forth, but every action outside the home brings misfortune. Going out the gate, nothing proceeds as expected — all movements lose their advantage. Carrying worry in the heart and harboring disaster in the breast, the speaker is worn down and exhausted. The verse describes a condition where the external world has become uniformly hostile: not one specific danger but a pervasive wrongness that turns every action sour. From The Family to Gathering, the lake collects upon the earth as people assemble in preparation for crisis. Gathering demands readiness — arms inspected, guard against the unexpected. This verse shows why: the world outside is treacherous, and only those who prepare before they step out can hope to survive what they find.
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