旅 → 益
Hexagram 56: The Wanderer → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5).
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 3
九三 旅焚其次。喪其童僕。貞厲。
Nine in the third place means: The wanderer's inn burns down. He loses the steadfastness of his young servant. Danger.
Line 4
九四 旅于處。得其資斧。我心不快。
Nine in the fourth place means: The wanderer rests in a shelter. He obtains his property and an ax. My heart is not glad.
Line 5
六五 射雉。一矢亡。終以譽命。
Six in the fifth place means: He shoots a pheasant. It drops with the first arrow. In the end this brings both praise and office.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
低頭竊視，有所畏避。行作未利，酒酸魚敗，重莫貪嗜。
Bowing the head, stealing a glance; there is something feared and avoided. Actions bring no profit; the wine has soured, the fish is spoiled. Better not to crave such things.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire on the mountain, and the traveler moves furtively, eyes downcast, full of fear. He glances about with lowered head, avoiding notice, dreading some unseen threat. His ventures yield nothing profitable; the wine has soured and the fish has spoiled — yet still he must resist the temptation to consume what is rotten. From The Wanderer to Increase, wind and thunder combine to inspire improvement — the gentleman sees the good and follows it, recognizes error and corrects it. Yet this traveler is trapped in a cycle of fear and spoiled opportunity. Increase demands discernment: the courage to reject what appears nourishing but is in fact corrupt. Refusing rotten fare may feel like deprivation, but it is the first step toward genuine gain.
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