Hexagram 20 觀 changing to hexagram 18 蠱
Changing lines (counted from the bottom): 2, 3, 5.
What to read
Three changing lines: read the judgments of the original and the resulting hexagram; the original is the main one. (Rule set out by Zhu Xi in the Yixue qimeng.)
Judgment of hexagram 20 觀
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
Judgment of hexagram 18 蠱
元亨。利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
Kû indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it). There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it.
The two hexagrams
Hexagram 20 觀 — judgment
盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Kwân shows (how he whom it represents should be like) the worshipper who has washed his hands, but not (yet) presented his offerings;—with sincerity and an appearance of dignity (commanding reverent regard).
Hexagram 18 蠱 — judgment
元亨。利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
Kû indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it). There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it.
The changing lines of hexagram 20
| Line | Chinese | Legge |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 窺觀，利女貞。 | The second line, divided, shows one peeping out from a door. It would be advantageous if it were (merely) the firm correctness of a female. |
| 3 | 觀我生，進退。 | The third line, divided, shows one looking at (the course of) his own life, to advance or recede (accordingly). |
| 5 | 觀我生，君子无咎。 | The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject contemplating his own life(-course). A superior man, he will (thus) fall into no error. |
English: James Legge (1882), public domain. Chinese: Zhou Yi.
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.