Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 56: The Wanderer

Breakthrough
Lake / Heaven
The Wanderer
Fire / Mountain
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5, 6).

Line 1

初九 壯于前趾。往不勝為咎。

zhuàngvigorous
in
qiánadvancing
zhǐtoes
wǎnggoing forward
is not
shèngsuccessful
wéimaking
jiùmistakes

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。

anxious
hàoand complain
this is not
night
yǒuto have
róngwar
do not
worry

Nine in the second place means: A cry of alarm. Arms at evening and at night. Fear nothing.

Line 5

九五 莧陸夬夬。中行无咎。

xiànwild edible greens
on the dry land
guàiresolved
guàito purge
zhōngto balance
xíngthe action
is not
jiùwrong

Nine in the fifth place means: In dealing with weeds, Firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle Remains free of blame.

Line 6

上六 无號。終有凶。

there is
hàocall
zhōngthe end
yǒucould
xiōngunfortunate

Six at the top means: No cry. In the end misfortune comes.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramLake FireThe Joyous → The Clinging
Lower TrigramHeaven MountainThe Creative → Keeping Still

Yilin Verse

北登鬼丘,駕龍東遊。王叔御后,文武何憂?

Ascending north to the ghost mound, riding dragons on an eastern journey. The prince drives for the queen; what worry have the civil and martial lords?

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Lake risen above heaven wanders as fire atop the mountain. Climbing north to Ghost Hill, one mounts a dragon and tours eastward. A royal uncle attends the queen, and King Wen and King Wu have nothing to worry about. The imagery is mythic: ascending spirit-mounds, riding dragons, traversing the cosmos under divine protection. The royal uncle serving the queen suggests the Duke of Zhou or a similar figure whose loyal service freed the sage-kings from anxiety. From Breakthrough to the Wanderer, the decisive act propels one outward into unfamiliar terrain. Fire on the mountain: the traveler's campfire, bright but transient. Yet this verse's wanderer travels not as an exile but as a triumphant envoy of heaven, his journey secured by the very dynasty whose founders he names.

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