歸妹 → 師
Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 4).
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 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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
炙魚枯斗，張伺夜鼠。舌不忍味，機發為祟。笮不得去。
Roasting dried fish on a withered brazier, setting the trap for the night rat. The tongue cannot savor the taste; the mechanism springs and brings calamity. Pressed tight, unable to escape.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder over lake descends into earth containing water: the maiden's restless energy meets the Army's disciplined mass. Dried fish crackle in the pan while a trap is set for the night rat. The tongue cannot resist a taste, the trigger fires by reflex, and the quarry is crushed in the press with no escape. Every image speaks of entrapment through appetite: the fish is bait, the rat is lured by scent, and the one who reaches for a morsel springs the mechanism upon himself. From the Marrying Maiden to the Army, the transformation converts scattered impulse into calculated deployment. The Army's water hidden within earth is a trap concealed beneath still ground. Discipline weaponizes patience, and greed becomes the enemy's undoing.
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