小過 → 无妄
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 25: Innocence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5, 6).
Line 1
初六 飛鳥以凶。
Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.
Line 3
九三 弗過防之。從或戕之。凶。
Nine in the third place means: If one is not extremely careful, Somebody may come up from behind and strike him. Misfortune.
Line 5
六五 密雲不雨。自我西郊。公弋取彼在穴。
Six in the fifth place means: Dense clouds, No rain from our western territory. The prince shoots and hits him who is in the cave.
Line 6
上六 弗遇過之。飛鳥離之。凶。是謂災眚。
Six at the top means: He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鸞鳳翱翔，集于喜國。念我伯姊，與母相得。
Phoenix and luan soar and glide, gathering in a land of joy; thinking of my elder sister, in harmony with mother.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain as phoenixes soar through the sky, alighting in a land of joy. One thinks of one's elder sister, who gets along well with mother. The verse is domestic felicity elevated to cosmic scale: the luan and feng (鸞鳳), the most auspicious of mythological birds, descend upon a blessed realm, and the family harmony below mirrors heaven's approval above. The elder sister's accord with the mother-in-law — often the most fraught relationship in traditional households — signals that even the most difficult bonds have been reconciled. From Small Exceeding to Innocence, the mountain's thunder becomes thunder rolling beneath heaven in pure spontaneity. The phoenixes choose their perch by instinct, not calculation; family harmony here is natural rather than engineered.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store