Cast an I Ching reading with coins or yarrow stalks and most lines stay still — but a few "change." Those changing lines are the heart of the oracle: they are the answer moving, not just sitting there. Here's what they mean and how to read them.
1. What a changing line is
Each of the six lines of a hexagram is either yin (broken) or yang (solid). But every line also has a degree:
- Young yang (7) — solid, stable. Stays solid.
- Young yin (8) — broken, stable. Stays broken.
- Old yang (9) — solid, but at its extreme. It is so yang it tips over into yin.
- Old yin (6) — broken, but at its extreme. It tips over into yang.
Only the "old" lines change. When a reading produces one, that line flips to its opposite and you get a second hexagram — the changed hexagram (之卦). The first hexagram is the present situation; the changed hexagram is where the situation is moving.