小過 → 離
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 30: The Clinging Fire
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 6).
Line 1
初六 飛鳥以凶。
Six at the beginning means: The bird meets with misfortune through flying.
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
爪牙之夫，怨毒祈父。轉憂與己，傷不及母。
The man of fangs and claws, bearing venomous grudge toward his father; the harm turns back upon himself; it does not reach the mother.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain, and the warrior with fangs and claws bears resentment against Qi Fu, the military overseer. He redirects the grievance onto himself, ensuring that harm does not reach his mother. The phrase 祈父 echoes the Odes poem 'Qi Fu' (祈父), which protests unjust military conscription — a soldier's complaint against the officer who sends him to danger far from home. The warrior absorbs the poison of resentment so that his family is shielded. From Small Exceeding to the Clinging, the mountain's thunder transforms into doubled fire — clarity illuminating clarity. The warrior's self-sacrifice is an act of terrible lucidity: he sees exactly where the harm will fall and interposes himself, burning brightly so that others remain in shadow.
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