Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 2: The Receptive

Limitation
Water / Lake
The Receptive
Earth / Earth
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5).

Line 1

初九 不出戶庭。无咎。

not
chūgoing out
the door
tíngthe chamber
no
jiùblame

Nine at the beginning means: Not going out of the door and the courtyard Is without blame.

Line 2

九二 不出門庭。凶。

not
chūgoing out
ménthe door
tíngthe chamber
xiōngunfortunate

Nine in the second place means: Not going out of the gate and the courtyard Brings misfortune.

Line 5

九五 甘節吉。往有尚。

gānsweet
jiéboundary
promising
wǎngto go ahead
yǒuis
shàngworth

Nine in the fifth place means: Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater EarthThe Deep → The Receptive
Lower TrigramLake EarthThe Joyous → The Receptive

Yilin Verse

探巢得雛,仇鵲俱來,使我心憂。

Reaching into the nest to seize a chick; vengeful magpies gather from all sides, filling my heart with dread.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Water over lake governs through measure, yet someone reaches into the nest and seizes a chick. The parent magpies swarm in fury, turning the raider into prey. Anxiety floods the heart. The imagery echoes a proverb: disturbing another's nest invites collective retaliation. From Limitation to the Receptive, the transformation shifts from structured restraint to boundless earth — yet the boundlessness here is not gentle reception but overwhelming vulnerability. One who violates boundaries discovers that the earth, once provoked, offers no shelter. The stolen chick yields only enemies, and the thief's gain becomes the source of unending worry. Receptive openness, misread as passive weakness, turns hostile when its territory is breached.

The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store

Related Pages