豐 → 否
Hexagram 55: Abundance → Hexagram 12: Standstill
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 遇其配主。雖旬无咎。往有尚。
Nine at the beginning means: When a man meets his destined ruler, They can be together ten days, And it is not a mistake. Going meets with recognition.
Line 3
九三 豐其沛。日中見沬。折其右肱。无咎。
Nine in the third place means: The underbrush is of such abundance That the small stars can be seen at noon. He breaks his right arm. No blame.
Line 5
六五 來章。有慶譽吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Lines are coming, Blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune.
Line 6
上六 豐其屋。蔀其家。闚其戶。闃其无人。三歲不覿。凶。
Six at the top means: His house is in a state of abundance. He screens off his family. He peers through the gate And no longer perceives anyone. For three years he sees nothing. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
蜲虵九子,長尾不殆。均明光澤,燕自受福。
The serpent Weiyi has nine young; their long tails bring no harm. Evenly bright and lustrous, the swallow of itself receives blessing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder and fire converge in Abundance, and a marvelous serpent appears. The winding snake (蜲虵) has nine offspring, each with a long tail, unharmed. Their scales gleam evenly with lustrous sheen, and the state of Yan receives blessing. The serpent with nine young suggests a prolific lineage flourishing under protection. The long tails signify vitality rather than vulnerability — unlike the 'tail too large to wag' warning, here the tails flow freely. The blessing falling upon Yan may allude to a northern state prospering through natural increase. From Abundance to Standstill, heaven and earth cease their exchange: paradoxically, the serpent's self-contained prosperity thrives precisely because it does not depend on external communion, embodying Standstill's counsel to preserve inner virtue during withdrawal.
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