Crowley: The universe is change; every change is the effect of an act of love; all acts of love contain pure joy. Die daily. Death is the apex of one curve of the snake of life: behold all opposites as necessary complements, and rejoice. Transformation, change, voluntary or involuntary, in either case logical development of existing conditions, yet perhaps sudden and unexpected. Apparent death or destruction, but such interpretation is illusion. (BT p. 258)

Molting, which is the secondary title of kua 49, has been a symbol for the concept of death and resurrection in many cultures. An animals capacity to shed its skin is understood to be symbolic of death and subsequent re-birth. The two most revolutionary changes an entity experiences are birth and death. Each change experienced in life is akin to a little death - and a little birth. The passing of something old and familiar and the simultaneous birth of something new. We tend to resent the involuntary loss of something we have acquired and to regret the voluntary relinquishment of things we believe we possess. We prefer the relative abundance of what we have to the uncertain richness of what we desire.

Wilhelm: (kua 49) The chinese character for this hexagram means, in its original sense, an animals pelt, which is changed in the course of the year by molting. ... Times change, and with them their demands. Man masters these changes in nature by noting their regularity and marking off the passage of time accordingly. In this way order and clarity appear in the apparently chaotic changes of the seasons, and man is able to adjust himself in advance to the demands of the different time. (p. 189)

Crowley: (I Ching, kua 49) Change; men doubt until their dullness sees the change wisdom can foretell with ease.

Kua 49, Commentary on the decision: REVOLUTION. ON YOUR OWN DAY YOU ARE BELIEVED: ONE BRINGS ABOUT A REVOLUTION AND IN SO DOING IS TRUSTED. ENLIGHTENMENT, AND THEREBY JOYOUSNESS: YOU CREATE GREAT SUCCESS THROUGH JUSTICE. (p. 636)

Crowley: ... behold all opposites as necessary complements, and rejoice. (BT p. 258)

Crowley: Transformation, change, voluntary or involuntary, in either case logical development of existing conditions. (BT p. 258)

Kua 49, Miscellaneous notes: REVOLUTION MEANS REMOVAL OF THAT WHICH IS ANTIQUATED. (p. 635)

Wilhelm: (kua 49) As revolutions in nature take place according to fixed laws..., so political revolutions - these can become necessary at times for doing away with a state of decay - (p. 637)

The pairing of kua 49 and 55 can be very meaningful. From the social-political perspective of the I Ching they represent two persons perspectives of a current situation. The first person acknowledges the need for change, and seeks it. The second person, being in a position of authority, seeks to forestall radical change by including the disenfranchised and disaffected in the sharing of the relative abundance of the time.

Crowley: Death is the apex of one curve of the snake of life: behold all opposites as necessary complements, and rejoice. (BT p. 258)

Wilhelm: (kua 55) The hexagram pictures a period of advanced civilization. However, the fact that development has reached a peak suggest that this extraordinary condition of abundance cannot be maintained permanently. ... Such a time of abundance is usually brief. Therefore a sage might well feel sad in view of the decline that must follow. But such a sadness does not befit him. Only a man who is inwardly free of sorrow and care can lead in a time of abundance. He must be like the sun at midday, illuminating and gladdening everything under heaven. ... (p. 213) Hence wind and water, and thunder and lightning, are together here and all this points to great power. Something of a climax is indicated. ... The hexagram is one of those referring to the mutability of all earthly things. (p. 669-670)

Kua 55, Commentary on the decision: WHEN THE SUN STANDS AT MIDDAY, IT BEGINS TO SET; WHEN THE MOON IS FULL, IT BEGINS TO WANE. THE FULLNESS AND EMPTINESS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH WANE AND WAX IN THE COURSE OF TIME. HOW MUCH TRUER IS THIS OF MEN, OR OF SPIRITS AND GODS! (p. 670)

Crowley: Apparent death or destruction, but such interpretation is illusion. (BT p. 258)

Wilhelm: (kua 55) Abundance can endure only if ever larger groups are brought to share in it, for only then can the movement continue without turning into its opposite. (p. 670-671)

Crowley: ... every change is the effect of an act of love; (BT p. 258)

The Hebrew letter associated with this trump is, NUN, which means "fish." In China the fish is symbolic of abundance, riches and wealth. It is also a symbol of regeneration.

"The fish is symbolically employed as the emblem of wealth or abundance, on account of the similarity in the pronunciation of the words yu {?},fish, and yu {?}, superfluity, and also because fish are extremely plentiful in Chinese waters. Owing to its reproductive powers it is a symbol of regeneration, ... According to the PO KU T'U (q.v.), fish are compared to a king's subjects, and the art of angling to that of ruling. Thus an unskilled angler will catch no fish, nor will a tactless prince win over his people."

C.A.S. WILLIAMS, "Outlines of Chinese Symbolism & Art Motives", DOVER PUBLICATIONS, 1976. (p. 185)

In the western tradition, Christ is associated with the fish. His earliest symbol was that of the fish, he called his disciples "fishers of men" and two of his miracles are associated with fish and abundance - the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the netting of 153 fish by Peter, "The Fisherman," upon meeting Jesus for the first time after his resurrection. Christ, as a symbol of life after death and as a "king" manifested during the astrological age of Pisces; the sign of the fish.

As a further illustration of the connection between rulership and fishing, refer to trump IV "THE EMPEROR"; to which the Hebrew letter TZADDI is assigned. TZADDI means "fish-hook."