A changing I Ching line switches to its opposite when forming the related hexagram. A changing solid line becomes broken; a changing broken line becomes solid. Only the marked changing lines switch. The stable lines keep their form.
The example below begins with Hexagram 1, changes its bottom line and produces Hexagram 44. The diagram is drawn from the recorded numbers, rather than generated as symbolic artwork.
Keep all six casting numbers
Using heads as 3 and tails as 2 in the three-coin method, 6 is changing yin, 7 stable yang, 8 stable yin and 9 changing yang. Draw the first result at the bottom and work upward.
Our example results, in casting order, are 9, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7. All six are solid in the initial figure, so the received figure is Hexagram 1. Only the first result is changing.
Keeping the numbers prevents a common recording problem: six solid strokes alone cannot show which solid line, if any, was marked to change.
Switch the marked line
The bottom 9 changes from solid to broken. The other five lines remain solid. The resulting figure is Hexagram 44, called Kâu by Legge and often titled Coming to Meet in English guides.
The second figure is related through this particular change. It is not another independently cast answer. Check its number against a hexagram lookup rather than guessing from a title.
Read the initial figure and the changing line separately
Read Hexagram 1's overall passage, then its first line. Legge's first-line text depicts a hidden dragon and says the time is not right for active doing. That specific line qualifies the broad emphasis of the figure.
In a hypothetical example, a musician preparing a public performance could connect the line with practicing before announcing a date. That is a modern application. The line does not establish that a particular concert must be delayed.
The practical check is whether the program is ready: timing, rehearsal support and venue arrangements can be examined directly. An interpretation should stay open to those facts.
Use the related figure as additional context
Read the selected translation's overall passage for Hexagram 44 and keep it beside the first figure and line. Its historical text includes a strong marriage caution. Do not quietly replace that with an unrelated modern keyword while claiming to quote the source.
For this instructional example, the essential result is structural: 1 changing at line 1 becomes 44. A full interpretation requires considering both passages and the actual question. The related figure should not be treated as a guaranteed future event merely because it appears second.
What if none or several lines change?
With no 6 or 9, there is no change of figure. Begin with the overall text of the received hexagram. With several changing lines, change all marked lines to obtain the related figure.
Reading conventions for several changing lines differ. Hilary Barrett recommends considering the lines together, often beginning with the lowest as part of a developing account. Other methods select particular line passages. Follow a named method consistently and record it, rather than selecting only the most welcome sentence.
For a first changing-line session, record the question, six results, received figure, marked line positions, related figure and source. That record makes the calculation and interpretation possible to check later.
Sources
Steve Marshall, How to consult the Yijing, for the coin convention. Legge, Hexagram 1, pp. 57–59 and Hexagram 44, pp. 154–157, for the figures and text. Hilary Barrett, Multiple moving lines, revisited, for her named approach. The musician example is original DuoSages work.
