歸妹 → 姤
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 44: Coming to Meet
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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 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
履不容足，南山多草。家有芳蘭，乃无病疾。
Shoes too tight for the feet; the southern mountain is thick with grass. The household keeps fragrant orchids; thus there is no sickness or affliction.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake gives way to heaven over wind: the maiden's vulnerable position meets Coming to Meet's unexpected encounter. Shoes too tight to fit; the southern mountain is thick with grass. Yet the household possesses fragrant orchids, and so no illness afflicts it. The verse juxtaposes external discomfort with domestic blessing: the road is difficult and the landscape wild, but within the home, aromatic herbs ward off disease. From the Marrying Maiden to Coming to Meet, wind moves beneath heaven as the ruler issues commands to the four directions. Coming to Meet warns against allowing a single yin to infiltrate and corrupt. Here the orchid within the home serves as protection, a natural ward against precisely the corruption that Gou warns against.
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