需 → 咸
Hexagram 5: Waiting → Hexagram 31: Influence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4).
Line 1
初九 需于郊。利用恆。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Waiting in the meadow. It furthers one to abide in what endures. No blame.
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 4
六四 需于血。出自穴。
Six in the fourth place means: Waiting in blood. Get out of the pit.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
早霜晚雪，傷害禾麥。損功棄力，飢無所食。
Early frost, late snow; they harm the grain and wheat. Effort is lost, labor discarded; starving, there is nothing to eat.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds above heaven meet the lake resting upon the mountain — Influence's image of mutual responsiveness. But here the response is destructive: early frost and late snow damage grain and wheat. Effort is wasted, strength squandered; hungry, there is nothing to eat. The verse describes a season where cold comes at both ends, bracketing the growing period with killing frost. The crops that Waiting's clouds should have nourished are instead destroyed by mistimed weather. From Waiting to Influence, the connection that should be life-giving becomes lethal: heaven and earth respond to each other, but the response is punishing cold rather than gentle warmth. Sensitivity without kindness is simply a more efficient way to wound.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store