歸妹 → 大畜
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 26: Great Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 6).
Line 3
六三 歸妹以須。反歸以娣。
Six in the third place means: The marrying maiden as a slave. She marries as a concubine.
Line 4
九四 歸妹愆期。遲歸有時。
Nine in the fourth place means: The marrying maiden draws out the allotted time. A late marriage comes in due course.
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
家在海隅，繞旋深流。豈敢憚行，无木以趨。
Home at the sea's far corner, ringed by deep currents. Who would not dare the journey? Yet there is no wood to make the crossing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake meets mountain over heaven: the maiden's restless energy encounters Great Taming's accumulated power. The home sits at the edge of the sea, encircled by deep currents. One dares not refuse the journey, but there is no timber to build a vessel. The verse captures impossible aspiration: the willingness to travel is there, but the means are absent. Surrounded by water, landlocked by lack of resources. From the Marrying Maiden to Great Taming, heaven stored within the mountain accumulates wisdom and strength through patience. Great Taming counsels studying the words and deeds of the ancients to build inner reserves. The verse suggests that before any great crossing, one must first gather the materials. Daring without preparation is courage wasted.
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