小過

Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding → Hexagram 8: Holding Together

小過
Small Exceeding
Thunder / Mountain
Holding Together
Water / Earth
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 3, 4, 5).

Line 3

九三 弗過防之。從或戕之。凶。

it
guògo beyond
fángto defend
zhīoneself
cóngfrom behind
huòsomebody
qiāngassault
zhīthis one
xiōngunfortunate

Nine in the third place means: If one is not extremely careful, Somebody may come up from behind and strike him. Misfortune.

Line 4

九四 无咎。弗過遇之。往厲必戒。勿用永貞。

avoid
jiùharm
it
guògo beyond
to greet
zhīanother
wǎnggoing
difficult
and require
jièprecaution
do not
yòngpractice
yǒnglasting
zhēnpersistence

Nine in the fourth place means: No blame. He meets him without passing by. Going brings danger. One must be on guard. Do not act. Be constantly persevering.

Line 5

六五 密雲不雨。自我西郊。公弋取彼在穴。

thick
yúnclouds
but
rain
coming from
our
西western
jiāohorizon
gōngeven a duke
bowhunts with tethered/harpoon arrows
preferring
that
zàiin
xuécave

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

Upper TrigramThunder WaterThe Arousing → The Deep
Lower TrigramMountain EarthKeeping Still → The Receptive

Yilin Verse

天女踞床,不成文章。南箕无舌,飯多砂糠。虛象盜名,雌雄折頸。

The celestial Weaving Maid sits at her loom but produces no pattern; the Southern Winnow has no tongue; rice is full of sand and chaff; empty images steal their names; the paired birds break their necks.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Thunder rumbles above the mountain, but the Weaving Maiden sits idle on her bed, producing no cloth. The Southern Winnowing Basket constellation lacks a tongue and cannot sift; rice is full of sand and chaff. Empty signs steal real names, and paired birds break their necks. The verse draws on stellar mythology: the Weaving Maiden (織女) and Winnowing Basket (箕) are constellations that bear functional names but perform no function — cosmic false advertising. From Small Exceeding to Holding Together, the mountain's thunder gives way to water flowing across the earth, seeking genuine union. But here the union is fraudulent: names promise what substance cannot deliver, and those who pair under false pretenses destroy each other. Solidarity built on hollow credentials collapses.

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