革 → 坎
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4).
Line 1
初九 鞏用黃牛之革。
Nine at the beginning means: Wrapped in the hide of a yellow cow.
Line 2
六二 巳日乃革之。征吉无咎。
Six in the second place means: When one's own day comes, one may create revolution. Starting brings good fortune. No blame.
Line 3
九三 征凶貞厲。革言三就。有孚。
Nine in the third place means: Starting brings misfortune. Perseverance brings danger. When talk of revolution has gone the rounds three times, One may commit himself, And men will believe him.
Line 4
九四 悔亡有孚。改命吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: Remorse disappears. Men believe him. Changing the form of government brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
華言風語，亂相狂誤。終无凶事，安寧如故。
Flowery words and windy talk stir confusion and wild error. In the end, no calamity befalls; peace and calm remain as before.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake sinks into doubled water — the Abysmal, peril upon peril. Flowery words and winds of gossip throw everything into frenzied confusion. Yet in the end no calamity occurs; peace and stability remain as before. Revolution stirs up turmoil, and the Abysmal doubles the danger with its repeated pits. But this verse offers an unexpected resolution: the chaos is all noise. Rumors swirl, panic spreads, yet when the dust settles, nothing has actually changed. From Revolution to the Abysmal, the reassuring resonance is that not every crisis is real. Sometimes the deepest-looking abyss is merely turbulent air — alarming but ultimately harmless.
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