萃 → 歸妹
Hexagram 45: Gathering Together → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 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 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
東鄰西家，來即我謀。中告吉誠，使君安寧。
The eastern neighbor, the western household; they come to seek my counsel. The inner oracle speaks true and sincere; it brings our lord peace and ease.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake upon earth transforms into thunder above the lake, the committed union of the Marrying Maiden. Neighbors to the east and west come to seek counsel. The central pronouncement is honest and auspicious, bringing the lord peace and tranquility. The verse depicts a community in which mutual consultation produces harmony: neighbors approach for advice, the oracle speaks truthfully, and the ruler finds rest. The marriage implied by Gui Mei is not a passionate union but a structural one, binding families and communities through proper protocol. From Gathering to the Marrying Maiden, the assembled community formalizes its bonds. Thunder stirs the lake into joyful response, and what was merely gathered proximity becomes committed alliance through the ritual of consultation and honest communication.
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