歸妹 → 否
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 歸妹以娣。跛能履。征吉。
Nine at the beginning means: The marrying maiden as a concubine. A lame man who is able to tread. Undertakings bring good fortune.
Line 2
九二 眇能視。利幽人之貞。
Nine in the second place means: A one-eyed man who is able to see. The perseverance of a solitary man furthers.
Line 5
六五 帝乙歸妹。其君之袂。不如其娣之袂良。月幾望吉。
Six in the fifth place means: The sovereign I gave his daughter in marriage. The embroidered garments of the princess Were not as gorgeous As those of the serving maid. The moon that is nearly full Brings good fortune.
Line 6
上六 女承筐无實。士刲羊无血。无攸利。
Six at the top means: The woman holds the basket, but there are no fruits in it. The man stabs the sheep, but no blood flows. Nothing that acts to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
煎砂盛暑，鮮有不朽。去河三里，敗我利市。老牛盲馬，去之何悔？
Frying sand in fierce heat, few things escape decay. Three li from the river, our profitable market is ruined. The old ox and the blind horse — what regret in leaving them behind?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake gives way to heaven over earth: the maiden's troubled union freezes into Standstill's total blockage. Sand scorches under summer heat, and few things survive unscorched. Three miles from the river, the market is already ruined. An old blind ox and a lame horse: what regret in abandoning them? Every image speaks of depletion and futility: heat that destroys, distance that defeats commerce, beasts too broken to serve. From the Marrying Maiden to Standstill, the transformation seals off all exchange. Heaven and earth no longer communicate; the gentleman withdraws into frugal virtue. The verse counsels letting go of what is already lost rather than clinging to ruined assets out of misplaced loyalty.
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