歸妹 → 恆
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 32: Duration
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 3).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
合歡之國，喜為我福。東岳南山，朝躋成息。
A land of shared joy; happiness becomes our blessing. East Peak and South Mountain — we ascend at dawn and rest at the summit.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake becomes thunder over wind: the maiden's precarious union steadies into Duration's enduring constancy. A nation of joyful harmony brings blessings of its own. Eastern Peak and Southern Mountain are climbed at dawn, and one rests upon reaching the summit. The verse pairs communal happiness with the ritual journey to sacred mountains, climbing toward permanence. From the Marrying Maiden to Duration, thunder and wind reinforce each other in perpetual motion. Duration's counsel is to stand firm without changing direction. The mountain climb embodies this: each step upward is a commitment sustained until the peak is reached. What began as an uncertain maiden's union here solidifies into the enduring rhythm of seasonal rites and steady ascent.
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