艮 → 師
Hexagram 52: Keeping Still Mountain → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 6).
Line 2
六二 艮其腓。不拯其隨。其心不快。
Six in the second place means: Keeping his calves still. He cannot rescue him whom he follows. His heart is not glad.
Line 3
九三 艮其限。列其夤。厲熏心。
Nine in the third place means: Keeping his hips still. Making his sacrum stiff. Dangerous. The heart suffocates.
Line 6
上九 敦艮吉。
Nine at the top means: Noblehearted keeping still. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
北山有棗，使叔壽考。東領多栗，宜行賈市。陸梁雌雉，所至利害。
The north mountain has jujubes, granting the uncle long life. The eastern ridge abounds in chestnuts, fit for trade at market. A bold hen-pheasant — wherever it goes, gain and harm follow.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Twin mountains stand still, and from their slopes come sustenance and commerce. The north mountain bears jujubes that grant Uncle long life; the eastern ridge is rich with chestnuts, inviting traders to market. Then a hen-pheasant struts boldly, and wherever she goes, fortunes shift between profit and harm. The verse catalogs mountain resources — food, trade goods, wildlife — but ends with an ambiguous creature whose movements bring unpredictable consequences. From Keeping Still to the Army, doubled mountain transforms into water hidden within the earth. The Army's image is disciplined containment: masses organized beneath the surface, resources marshaled. The mountain's bounty only becomes strength when properly administered, like a general surveying terrain before deploying troops.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store