旅 → 蠱
Hexagram 56: The Wanderer → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 2).
Line 1
初六 旅瑣瑣。斯其所取災。
Six at the beginning means: If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things, He draws down misfortune upon himself.
Line 2
六二 旅即次。懷其資。得童僕貞。
Six in the second place means: The wanderer comes to an inn. He has his property with him. He wins the steadfastness of a young servant.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
延頸望酒，不入我口。深目自苦，利得无有。
Craning the neck, gazing at wine that never reaches my mouth. Eyes deep-set in bitter longing; no profit to be had.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire on the mountain, and a thirsty traveler stretches his neck toward wine that never reaches his lips. Deep-set eyes betray self-inflicted suffering; he strains after profit but gains nothing. The image is visceral — desire without fulfillment, effort without reward. The wine exists, tantalizingly close, but some barrier prevents consumption. From The Wanderer to Work on the Decayed, wind stirs beneath the mountain, disturbing what has long settled. The Wanderer's frustrated longing meets Decay's demand for renovation. What the traveler craves may already be spoiled; what he pursues is not worth the pursuit. The verse suggests that the bitterness comes not from external denial but from chasing something rotten at its source.
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