需 → 師
Hexagram 5: Waiting → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5).
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 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.
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
鳧遊江海，役行千里。以為死亡，復見空素。長主凶憂。
The wild duck roams the rivers and seas; sent on a journey of a thousand li. Thought to be dead; but one sees again the empty message. For the lord, a long sorrow.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds above heaven dissolve into water hidden within the earth — the Army's concealed reserves. A wild duck roams the rivers and seas while a conscript marches a thousand leagues, presumed dead by those at home. Then, unexpectedly, he reappears — 'a white letter is seen again,' the cloth of mourning reversed into the garment of return. Yet the final phrase darkens: 'the elder lord suffers misfortune and grief.' Reunion is incomplete; someone in authority pays the cost. From Waiting to The Army, nourishment transforms into disciplined mobilization: the waters that gathered patiently beneath the clouds now flow underground, marshaled as the hidden strength of the people under collective command.
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