巽 → 夬
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 43: Breakthrough
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 進退。利武人之貞。
Six at the beginning means: In advancing and in retreating, The perseverance of a warrior furthers.
Line 4
六四 悔亡。田獲三品。
Six in the fourth place means: Remorse vanishes. During the hunt Three kinds of game are caught.
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
初雖驚惶，後乃无傷，受其福慶。
At first there is alarm and fear; but afterward comes no harm—blessings and good fortune received.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into lake over heaven: the Gentle becomes Breakthrough. At first there is alarm and panic, but afterward no injury comes — one receives blessings and good fortune. The verse distills a complete emotional arc into three terse phrases: terror strikes, the danger passes, prosperity follows. The initial shock is real but ultimately inconsequential. From The Gentle to Breakthrough, the lake rises above heaven — a single yin line atop five yang lines, about to be resolved. Breakthrough demands decisive action against what is inferior, but also firmness in meeting the moment without excess. Here the breakthrough works perfectly: the frightening appearance dissolves, and what seemed threatening yields only benefit. The crisis was the threshold, not the destination.
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