需 → 大壯
Hexagram 5: Waiting → Hexagram 34: Great Power
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 5).
Line 4
六四 需于血。出自穴。
Six in the fourth place means: Waiting in blood. Get out of the pit.
Line 5
九五 需于酒食。貞吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Waiting at meat and drink. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
婚姻合配,同枕共牢。以降休嘉,子孫封侯。
Marriage well matched; sharing pillow and bridal feast. Bringing down fine auspiciousness; sons and grandsons enfeoffed as marquises.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds above heaven build into thunder in heaven — Great Power's surging vitality. Marriage is well-matched; husband and wife share pillow and ritual feast together. Blessings of joy and excellence descend, and their descendants are enfeoffed as marquises. The 'shared feast' (同牢) refers to the ancient wedding ritual where bride and groom eat from the same sacrificial animal, sealing their union. The verse traces a line from conjugal harmony to dynastic success across generations. From Waiting to Great Power, patient nourishment becomes thunderous strength: the waiting was not passive but generative, building the foundation from which descendants rise to power and honor through the momentum of a well-founded household.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store