節 → 解
Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 40: Deliverance
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 不出戶庭。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Not going out of the door and the courtyard Is without blame.
Line 4
六四 安節亨。
Six in the fourth place means: Contented limitation. Success.
Line 5
九五 甘節吉。往有尚。
Nine in the fifth place means: Sweet limitation brings good fortune. Going brings esteem.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
皇母多恩，字養孝孫。脫於襁褓，成就為君。
The imperial grandmother's grace is abundant; she nurtures her filial grandson. From swaddling clothes he emerges, accomplished and made ruler.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water over lake nurtures within its bounds, and this verse celebrates the most intimate form of such nurture. The imperial grandmother lavishes her grace, raising her filial grandson from swaddling clothes to the throne. The verse traces a complete arc: from helpless infant to accomplished ruler, guided by a matriarch's devoted care. The 'huang mu' (imperial mother/grandmother) likely alludes to powerful Han dynasty dowagers who served as regents, shaping emperors from infancy. From Limitation to Deliverance, the transformation reveals how protective constraint gives way to liberation. Thunder and rain burst forth — the storm that clears the air. The swaddling bands that once protected now fall away as the grown ruler assumes command. Limitation's sheltering discipline becomes Deliverance's moment of release.
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