革 → 兌
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 58: The Joyous Lake
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
三羊群走，雉兔驚駭。非所畏懼，自令勞苦。
Three rams run in a flock; pheasant and rabbit are startled. What they flee is nothing to fear; they only bring toil upon themselves.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake doubles into lake upon lake — the Joyous, where mutual delight flows between friends. Three goats run together in a flock; pheasants and hares scatter in alarm. But the frightened creatures have nothing to fear — they have only made themselves weary for nothing. The goats are not predators; the pheasants' panic is baseless. Joy's doubled lake should bring shared pleasure, but here the other animals mistake playfulness for threat. From Revolution to the Joyous, the transformation captures a common aftermath of upheaval: the lingering reflex of fear even when danger has passed. The revolution is over; the goats are just goats. But the pheasants cannot stop running.
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