巽 → 未濟

Commentary

Wind upon wind transforms into fire over water: the Gentle becomes Before Completion. The Five Sacred Mountains and Four Great Rivers hold moisture within as their virtue. Actions do not stray from principle, and the people depend on this grace for their blessings. The verse invokes the most fundamental features of China's sacred geography — the mountains that anchor heaven's mandate and the rivers that nourish the land — as moral exemplars. Their virtue lies in containment: holding moisture, sustaining life, never departing from the natural order. From The Gentle to Before Completion, fire sits above water — not yet in alignment, the crossing not yet made. Yet the verse counsels trust in the enduring structure: as long as mountains hold moisture and rivers follow their courses, the final completion, though still pending, is assured by the steadfastness of the landscape itself.