歸妹 → 節
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 60: Limitation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 4, 5).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
張羅捕鳩，兔離其災。雌雄俱得，為罝所賊。
Spreading the net to catch the dove; the rabbit escapes its doom. Male and female both are taken; the snare becomes their executioner.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake meets water over lake: the maiden's impulsive energy encounters Limitation's measured boundaries. Nets are spread to catch pigeons; the rabbit escapes its trap. But both male and female birds are caught, snared together by the hunting net. The verse shows a mixed outcome: one quarry escapes while another is caught, the net capturing what it was not set for. From the Marrying Maiden to Limitation, water rests upon the lake, establishing the proper level beyond which excess is harmful. Limitation demands measured restraint, knowing when enough is enough. The hunting net is itself a device of limitation, but here it catches indiscriminately. The verse warns that limits applied without precision trap the wrong targets while letting the real quarry slip away.
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