巽 → 坎
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 29: The Abysmal Water
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 6).
Line 3
九三 頻巽吝。
Nine in the third place means: Repeated penetration. Humiliation.
Line 6
上九 巽在牀下。喪其資斧。貞凶。
Nine at the top means: Penetration under the bed. He loses his property and his ax. Perseverance brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
時鵠抱子，見蛇何咎？室家俱在，不失其所。
The swan guards her young; what harm can the passing snake bring? Household and home remain whole; nothing is lost from its place.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into doubled water: the Gentle becomes The Abysmal. A swan goose in season broods upon her young; encountering a snake, what harm can come? Home and family are all intact — nothing is lost from its proper place. The verse presents danger defused by domestic stability. The nesting bird sees the serpent but remains unshaken because her household is complete and secure. From The Gentle to The Abysmal, doubled water means danger upon danger — yet here the danger is acknowledged and dismissed. The snake appears but does not strike. The secret lies in the phrase 'all intact': when the family holds together and each thing remains in its place, even the abyss loses its power to destroy. Steadfast presence neutralizes peril.
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