小過 → 益
Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 42: Increase
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 5).
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.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
執斧破薪，使媒求婦。和合二姓，親迎斯須。色比毛嬙，姑翁悅喜。
Taking axe to split firewood, sending matchmaker to seek a bride; two surnames join in harmony; welcoming the bride in ceremony; her beauty rivals Mao Qiang; parents-in-law rejoice.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Thunder rumbles above the mountain as the groom takes an axe to chop firewood, then sends a matchmaker to seek a bride. Two surnames are harmoniously joined, and the formal procession arrives shortly. The bride's beauty rivals Mao Qiang, and the parents-in-law are delighted. The axe and firewood (執斧破薪) allude to the Odes poem 'Fa Ke' (伐柯): 'To hew an axe handle, the pattern is not far' — marriage follows established models. Mao Qiang (毛嬙) was a legendary beauty of the Yue kingdom. From Small Exceeding to Increase, the mountain's thunder transforms into wind and thunder working in concert — mutual reinforcement and growth. The marriage is not mere domesticity but generative union: two forces amplifying each other, the household as engine of increase.
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