At a glance
- Change rule
- Reverse moving lines; retain stable lines
- Record
- Keep six values in bottom-up order
Definition and terminology
The initial structure is often called the original hexagram; moving lines reverse polarity to form a relating or changed hexagram. This relationship does not automatically describe an inevitable future state. Zero through six lines may move. Unchanged lines retain their polarity, so recording positions preserves the actual transformation.
Structure and rules
Stalk and three-coin methods commonly produce six, seven, eight and nine. Six is old yin and nine old yang, usually changing; seven and eight remain stable. Generation and interpretation must be separated. Different procedures can share labels but differ in probabilities, and traditions differ in handling several moving lines.
Worked reading
If all six lines form Qian and only the initial line moves, reversing the bottom yang line yields Xun below Qian, the hexagram Gou. Draw both structures before consulting texts. The example demonstrates the consequence of a single change, without turning Gou’s name into a guaranteed prediction of tomorrow’s encounters.
Context and limits
A philosophical reader may treat the transformation as a prompt to consider alternatives; a divinatory school may assign the relating hexagram a particular temporal role. Specify that choice. Preserve the six original values, order and procedure for reproducibility. Correct structure establishes procedural accuracy, not independent confirmation of the resulting interpretation.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 《周易》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain classic; documents hexagrams and textual statements, not predictive effectiveness.
- 《易传·系辞上》Primary / tradition source
Public-domain commentary; traditional accounts of polarity, taiji, images and stalk divination; traditional attribution is not settled authorship.