漸 → 鼎
Hexagram 53: Development → Hexagram 50: The Cauldron
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5).
Line 2
六二 鴻漸于磐。飲食衎衎。吉。
Six in the second place means: The wild goose gradually draws near the cliff. Eating and drinking in peace and concord. Good fortune.
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 5
九五 鴻漸于陵。婦三歲不孕。終莫之勝。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: The wild goose gradually draws near the summit. For three years the woman has no child. In the end nothing can hinder her. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
雞鳴同舉，思配无家。執佩持鳧，無所致之。
The rooster crows and all rise together, yet one seeks a mate without a household. Holding pendants, grasping the carved duck; with nowhere to present them.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind over mountain yields to fire above wind: gradual development aspires to the refinement of the Cauldron. At cockcrow all rise together, longing for a partner but finding none. One holds the ceremonial tokens and bridal ducks, yet has nowhere to present them. The verse depicts readiness without a recipient: the gifts are prepared, the hour has come, but the intended match is absent. From Development to the Cauldron, fire transforms what the wind delivers, refining raw materials into something sacred. Yet the verse warns that even a perfectly prepared offering needs a vessel to receive it. Gradual cultivation of gifts and credentials means nothing if the right context for their presentation never materializes. The cauldron stands empty, waiting.
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