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Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed

䷑ 蠱 (Gǔ) · Repairing decay. Fix what past neglect has damaged.

repair, inheritance, renewal, responsibility

Lower trigram: Wind ☴ · Upper trigram: Mountain ☶

The judgment

Something has spoiled through neglect, and it can be put right. Don't only tidy the surface: look carefully at how the decay began before you act, and keep watching afterwards so it does not slip back. Work done this way is worth the effort, even when it is a big undertaking.

The image

Wind blows low along the foot of the mountain, stirring what has gone still. Shake up what has grown stale in yourself and those around you, then strengthen it patiently.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your casting, counting from the bottom.

• Line 1 (bottom): A habit or rule handed down to you has gone wrong. Fixing it is no betrayal of those who came before; there is some risk, but care brings a good end.
• Line 2: What was spoiled through softness or neglect needs mending, but gently. Being too harsh about old weakness only wounds; correct it with tact.
• Line 3: You go at an old problem a little too forcefully. Some regret follows, yet acting too strongly is far better than doing nothing.
• Line 4: You let an old fault stand because facing it feels hard. Putting it off only lets the rot spread, and it ends in embarrassment.
• Line 5: You take on an old mess and set it right, with help from others. The work earns real respect.
• Line 6 (top): You step back from public affairs to tend something higher in yourself. This is not indifference; inner work can matter just as much.

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