需 → 屯
Hexagram 5: Waiting → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 2, 3).
Line 2
九二 需于沙。小有言。終吉。
Nine in the second place means: Waiting on the sand. There is some gossip. The end brings good fortune.
Line 3
九三 需于泥。致寇至。
Nine in the third place means: Waiting in the mud Brings about the arrival of the enemy.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
西誅不服，恃強負力。倍道趨敵，師徒敗覆。
Campaigning west to punish the unsubmissive; relying on strength and force. Doubling the march to rush the enemy; the army is defeated and overturned.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds above heaven promise nourishment, but a western campaign against rebels wastes it all. Relying on brute strength and trusting superior force, the army doubles its marches to close with the enemy — and is annihilated. The phrase 'doubled marches' (倍道) echoes the classic military blunder of overextending supply lines, leaving troops exhausted before battle begins. Haste and arrogance undo what patience might have preserved. From Waiting to Difficulty at the Beginning, the transformation is sharp: the nourishing pause of Xu gives way to the churning chaos of clouds and thunder, where premature action tangles every thread into a knot that cannot be undone.
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