震 → 噬嗑
Hexagram 51: The Arousing Thunder → Hexagram 21: Biting Through
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上六 震索索。視矍矍。征凶。震不于其躬。于其鄰。无咎。婚媾有言。
Six at the top means: Shock brings ruin and terrified gazing around. Going ahead brings misfortune. If it has not yet touched one's own body But has reached one's neighbor first, There is no blame. One's comrades have something to talk about.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
旁行不遠，三里復反。心多畏惡，日中止舍。
Wandering aside, not far; after three li, turning back again. Heart full of dread; at midday, halting to rest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder doubled meets fire over thunder: shock intensified into the decisive bite. Traveling sideways but not far, turning back within three li. The heart is full of dread and loathing; at noon one halts and takes shelter. The traveler cannot commit to any direction — going a short distance only to reverse course, paralyzed by fear, stopping at midday when the sun is highest. From The Arousing to Biting Through, fire and thunder strike together to enforce clarity. The verse diagnoses the problem that Biting Through must solve: hesitation caused by an obstacle lodged in the path. The inability to proceed demands a decisive act of severance. One must bite through the obstruction or remain frozen in a three-li circle forever.
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