漸 → 萃
Hexagram 53: Development → Hexagram 45: Gathering Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 6).
Line 3
九三 鴻漸于陸。夫征不復。婦孕不育。凶。利禦寇。
Nine in the third place means: The wild goose gradually draws near the plateau. The man goes forth and does not return. The woman carries a child but does not bring it forth. Misfortune. It furthers one to fight off robbers.
Line 4
六四 鴻漸于木。或得其桷。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The wild goose goes gradually draws near the tree. Perhaps it will find a flat branch. No blame.
Line 6
上九 鴻漸于陸。其羽可用為儀。吉。
Nine at the top means: The wild goose gradually draws near the clouds heights. Its feathers can be used for the sacred dance. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
西行求玉，冀得瑜璞。反得凶惡，使我驚惑。
Journeying west in search of jade, hoping to find an uncut gem. Instead one meets with misfortune; it fills me with alarm and doubt.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over mountain meets lake above earth: gradual development gathers only to find Gathering gone wrong. Traveling west to seek jade, hoping to find a precious uncut stone, one instead encounters something foul and dangerous, leaving the seeker startled and confused. The westward journey for jade echoes the Bian He legend, but here there is no hidden gem, only menace. From Development to Gathering, the lake pools upon the earth, drawing all things together. Yet not everything that gathers is benign. The verse warns that the pursuit of treasure can attract peril instead: one sets out with gradual, methodical preparation, only to find that what congregates at the destination is not wealth but wickedness. Gathering indiscriminately invites disaster.
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