蹇 → 姤
Hexagram 39: Obstruction → Hexagram 44: Coming to Meet
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 6).
Line 2
六二 王臣蹇蹇。匪躬之故。
Six in the second place means: The King's servant is beset by obstruction upon obstruction, But it is not his own fault.
Line 4
六四 往蹇來連。
Six in the fourth place means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to union.
Line 6
上六 往蹇來碩。吉。利見大人。
Six at the top means: Going leads to obstructions, Coming leads to great good fortune. It furthers one to see the great man.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
放衘垂轡，奔馬不制，棄法作奸，君失其位。
The bit released and reins hanging loose; the galloping horse cannot be controlled. Abandoning law to practice treachery; the lord loses his position.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water on the mountain mirrors the chaos of an ungoverned state. The bit is loosened, the reins hang slack, and a runaway horse cannot be controlled. Laws are abandoned and villainy flourishes; the ruler loses his throne. The horse imagery is politically precise: the bit (衘) and reins (轡) represent the institutional controls that keep power in check. When these are dropped, raw force runs wild and legitimate authority collapses. From Obstruction to Coming to Meet, wind blows beneath heaven as something unexpected enters from below. Coming to Meet warns against the unchecked intrusion of inferior forces. The runaway horse is exactly this: an ungoverned energy that should have been restrained at first encounter. The transformation reveals that obstruction left unmanaged does not simply persist — it metastasizes into anarchy.
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