夬 → 蹇
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
手足易處，頭尾顛倒。公為雌嫗，亂其蚕織。
Hands and feet trade places; head and tail are turned around. The lord becomes an old woman, throwing the silkworm weaving into disorder.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven stumbles into the water pooling upon the mountain. Hands and feet are switched in place; head and tail are inverted. The lord becomes a crone, ruining the silkworm and weaving work. Everything is upside down — extremities transposed, authority feminized in the classical sense of disordered governance, and the fundamental work of civilization disrupted. Silk production, the domain of the inner quarters, collapses when an incompetent hand takes charge. From Breakthrough to Obstruction, decisive clarity gives way to the mountain blocking the path, water frozen on its peak. The verse embodies Obstruction's core: when the natural hierarchy is reversed and proper roles confused, every attempt at progress meets resistance, and the fabric of society — literally — unravels.
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