萃 → 大有
Hexagram 45: Gathering Together → Hexagram 14: Great Possession
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 有孚不終。乃亂乃萃。若號一握為笑。勿恤。往无咎。
Six at the beginning means: If you are sincere, but not to the end, There will sometimes be confusion, sometimes gathering together. If you call out, Then after one grasp of the hand you can laugh again. Regret not. Going is without blame.
Line 2
六二 引吉无咎。孚乃利用禴。
Six in the second place means: Letting oneself be drawn Brings good fortune and remains blameless. If one is sincere, It furthers one to bring even a small offering.
Line 3
六三 萃如嗟如。无攸利。往无咎。小吝。
Six in the third place means: Gathering together amid sighs. Nothing that would further. Going is without blame. Slight humiliation.
Line 5
九五 萃有位。无咎匪孚。元永貞。悔亡。
Nine in the fifth place means: If in gathering together one has position, This brings no blame. If there are some who are not yet sincerely in the work, Sublime and enduring perseverance is needed. Then remorse disappears.
Line 6
上六 齎咨涕洟。无咎。
Six at the top means: Lamenting and sighing, floods of tears. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
左指右揮，邪佞侈靡。執節无良，靈君以亡。
Pointing left, commanding right; crooked flattery and wanton excess. Holding the tally without virtue; the spirit-lord is thereby undone.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake upon earth transforms into fire blazing in heaven, Great Possession mismanaged. The left hand points, the right hand waves; flattery and extravagance run unchecked. Those entrusted with the seal of authority lack integrity, and the lord of Ling perishes. The title 'Lord Ling' frequently denotes rulers who met violent ends due to corrupt courts: Duke Ling of Chen was assassinated amid scandal, Duke Ling of Jin was killed after plotting against his own minister. The verse condemns governance by spectacle, where advisors gesture grandly but accomplish nothing of substance. From Gathering to Great Possession, accumulated wealth becomes a stage for parasites. Fire in heaven should illuminate and judge, but when flatterers surround it, brilliance is wasted on display rather than discernment.
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