中孚 → 歸妹
Hexagram 61: Inner Truth → Hexagram 54: The Marrying Maiden
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 4, 5, 6).
Line 4
六四 月幾望。馬匹亡。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: The moon nearly at the full. The team horse goes astray. No blame.
Line 5
九五 有孚攣如。无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: He possesses truth, which links together. No blame.
Line 6
上九 翰音登于天。貞凶。
Nine at the top means: Cockcrow penetrating to heaven. Perseverance brings misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鵲思其雄，欲隨鳳東。順理羽翼，出次須日。中留北邑，復歸其室。
The magpie longs for her mate; wishing to follow the phoenix east. Grooming her feathers; departing must await the right day. Delayed in the northern village; she returns to her nest.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind stirs above the lake as the magpie yearns for her mate, wishing to follow the phoenix eastward. She preens her feathers, preparing for departure, but must wait for the proper day. Delayed in a northern town, she eventually returns home. The verse traces a cycle of romantic longing, preparation, postponement, and return: the magpie wants to fly with the phoenix but cannot leave on her own schedule. The proper day never quite arrives, and she comes back to where she began. From Inner Truth to the Marrying Maiden, sincerity meets thunder above the lake — the younger sister given in marriage. Yet here the marriage journey is aborted: propriety demands timing, and when timing fails, even genuine desire must yield to circumstance.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store