蹇 → 明夷
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
Line 1
初六 往蹇來譽。
Six at the beginning means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming meets with praise.
Line 5
九五 大蹇朋來。
Nine in the fifth place means: In the midst of the greatest obstructions, Friends come.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
欲飛不能，志苦心勞，福不我求。
Wishing to fly yet unable; the will is bitter and the heart toils. Blessings do not seek me out.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain weighs upon wings that cannot spread. Longing to fly but unable, the spirit toils in bitter frustration, and blessings refuse to come. The verse is among the Yilin's most compressed expressions of thwarted aspiration — three short phrases that capture an entire life of unfulfilled potential. The bird that cannot fly is not caged but simply incapable; the obstruction is internal as much as external. From Obstruction to Darkening of the Light, fire sinks beneath the earth. Brightness enters the ground and is buried. The transformation deepens the anguish: the aspiration to fly meets not just obstruction but active suppression. The light that should illuminate is forced underground, and the spirit that should soar is pressed into the mountain's weight. Yet Darkening of the Light counsels using 'darkness to remain bright' — surviving by concealing one's flame.
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