節 → 訟
Hexagram 60: Limitation → Hexagram 6: Conflict
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 6).
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 6
上六 苦節貞凶。悔亡。
Six at the top means: Galling limitation. Perseverance brings misfortune. Remorse disappears.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
雲龍集會，征討西戎。招邊定眾，誰敢當鋒。
Cloud and dragon converge; marching west to subdue the barbarians. Summoning border forces, settling the multitudes; who dares stand against their advance?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water over lake holds power in check, but when the time comes, that power surges forth with irresistible purpose. Cloud and dragon converge — the ancient metaphor for a sovereign meeting his destined general. The armies march west to subdue the Rong barbarians, pacifying the frontier and rallying the multitudes. Who dares face such a blade? The verse celebrates a decisive military expedition conducted with both legitimacy and overwhelming force. From Limitation to Conflict, the transformation channels stored restraint into strategic confrontation. Heaven and water move in opposing directions, yet this very tension generates the clarity needed to plan before acting. The measured discipline of Limitation becomes the calculated first move of Conflict — restraint transmuted into purposeful engagement.
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