兌 → 師
Hexagram 58: The Joyous Lake → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 和兌吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Contented joyousness. Good fortune.
Line 4
九四 商兌未寧。介疾有喜。
Nine in the fourth place means: Joyousness that is weighed is not at peace. After ridding himself of mistakes a man has joy.
Line 5
九五 孚于剝。有厲。
Nine in the fifth place means: Sincerity toward disintegrating influences is dangerous.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
早霜晚雪，傷害禾麥。損功棄力，飢无所食。
Early frost and late snow injure the grain and wheat. Effort lost, labor abandoned; hungry with nothing to eat.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Paired lakes freeze over as early frost and late snow devastate grain and wheat. Labor is wasted, effort abandoned; hunger follows with nothing to eat. The water within the earth — the image of The Army — suggests a disciplined collective response to crisis, but the verse shows what happens when nature's assault precedes any possibility of organized defense. From The Joyous to The Army, delight is shattered by seasonal catastrophe. The army's water-in-earth pattern implies that survival requires marshaling remaining resources with military discipline, not surrendering to despair. Even amid ruin, the capacity for organized response persists beneath the surface.
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