比 → 未濟
Hexagram 8: Holding Together → Hexagram 64: Before Completion
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5, 6).
Line 2
六二 比之自內。貞吉。
Six in the second place means: Hold to him inwardly. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 4
六四 外比之。貞吉。
Six in the fourth place means: Hold to him outwardly also. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Line 5
九五 顯比。王用三驅。失前禽。邑人不誡。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Manifestation of holding together. In the hunt the king uses beaters on three sides only And forgoes game that runs off in front. The citizens need no warning. Good fortune.
Line 6
上六 比之无首。凶。
Six at the top means: He finds no head for holding together. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
登高上山，見王自言；申理我冤，得職蒙恩。
Climbing high upon the mountain, meeting the king and speaking directly. He hears my grievance; I receive office and grace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water upon earth carries the petitioner upward to seek justice. Climbing the high mountain, one reaches the king and speaks directly, laying out the grievance and pleading the case. The wrong is rectified; an official position is bestowed, and grace is received. The verse traces a complete arc of vindication: from obscurity and injustice to recognition and restoration. The mountain ascent is both literal and metaphorical — the arduous journey to the seat of power. From Holding Together to Before Completion, fire above water has not yet found its proper configuration, yet the verse insists on resolution. Weiji's incompleteness is not failure but the threshold just before order is established. The petitioner arrives; the story is not yet over, but the turning point has been reached.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store