歸妹 → 離
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 6).
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 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 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
絕世无嗣，福祿不存。精神渙散，離其躬身。
The line is severed, no heir remains; fortune and rank endure no more. Spirit and essence scatter and fade, departing from the living body.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake meets doubled fire: the maiden's troubled union encounters the Clinging's demand for something to adhere to. The line is cut off, no heir survives; blessings and prosperity cease to exist. Spirit and vitality scatter, departing from the body itself. The verse describes extinction at every level: biological, spiritual, and material. From the Marrying Maiden to the Clinging, fire must have fuel to burn, light must have a vessel to illuminate. The Clinging's nature is dependence, brilliance that requires attachment. When there is nothing left to cling to, no heir, no fortune, no animating spirit, even fire goes dark. The verse captures the moment when the last ember loses its hold and consciousness itself disperses.
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