夬 → 明夷
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5).
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 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
長夜短日，陰為陽賊。萬物空枯，藏於北陸。
The sun sinks half a pole-height and it is dusk. Frost kills every grass, leaving no root. Ice seals the land — not a sign of life; only the north wind makes a weeping sound.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven buries itself as fire sinks into the earth. The original verse reads: 'Long nights and short days; yin becomes the thief of yang. All things wither to emptiness, hidden away in the northern darkness.' This is the winter solstice at its bleakest — the shortest day, the longest night, darkness preying upon light. Nothing grows; everything retreats into the frozen north. From Breakthrough to Darkening of the Light, the decisive expulsion of darkness reverses completely. The bright light that once cut through obstruction now descends into the earth, concealed and wounded. The verse captures the full arc: what was above heaven is now buried underground. Yet Darkening of the Light also means using darkness strategically — the wise man obscures his brilliance to survive, knowing the solstice will turn.
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