夬 → 坤
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 2: The Receptive
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 壯于前趾。往不勝為咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Mighty in the forward-striding toes. When one goes and is not equal to the task, One makes a mistake.
Line 2
九二 惕號。莫夜有戎。勿恤。
Nine in the second place means: A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and at night. Fear nothing.
Line 3
九三 壯于頄。有凶。君子夬夬。獨行遇雨。若濡有慍。无咎。
Nine in the third place means: To be powerful in the cheekbones Brings misfortune. The superior man is firmly resolved. He walks alone and is caught in the rain. He is bespattered, And people murmur against him. No blame.
Line 4
九四 臀无膚。其行次且。牽羊悔亡。聞言不信。
Nine in the fourth place means: There is no skin on his thighs, And walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, Remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard They will not be believed.
Line 5
九五 莧陸夬夬。中行无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: In dealing with weeds, Firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle Remains free of blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
歲暮花落，陽入陰室。萬物伏匿，絕不可得。
At year's end flowers fall; the yang enters the chamber of yin. The ten thousand things lie hidden; utterly beyond reach.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven descends into the deepest receptivity. As the year wanes and flowers fall, yang withdraws into the chamber of yin. All living things hide away, impossible to find. This is the winter solstice landscape — nature at its most withdrawn, the creative force gone entirely underground. The imagery of blossoms dropping and creatures vanishing evokes the seasonal death that precedes renewal. From Breakthrough to the Receptive, decisive action exhausts itself and yields to pure receptivity. The five yang lines that once pressed forward now give way to six yin: the field lies fallow, the earth waits in silence, and nothing can be forced from it. Even the most resolute breakthrough must eventually surrender to the season.
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