萃 → 震
Hexagram 45: Gathering Together → Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 5).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
登高上山，見王自言。信理我冤，得職蒙恩。
Climbing high, ascending the mountain; he sees the king and speaks his case. His injustice is examined and righted; he obtains his post and receives grace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake upon earth gives way to doubled thunder, the shattering Arousing. One climbs the mountain heights and speaks directly to the king. The case is heard, the injustice corrected; official appointment is received and grace bestowed. The verse is a vindication narrative: the wronged petitioner ascends to the sovereign's presence, gains an audience, has his grievance redressed, and is rewarded with office. The mountain climb is both literal and metaphorical: reaching the king requires effort, but the effort pays off when the ruler listens. From Gathering to the Arousing, the transformation is the thunderclap of justice. Doubled thunder shakes the world into attention, and the gathered assembly parts to let the petitioner through. What was merely congregated becomes the court of appeal.
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