Hexagram 18 · 山风蛊

Work on the Decayed

Earth · Xun palace

Repairing inherited damage before moving on.

Meaning

Wind trapped beneath a mountain: stagnation that has accumulated over time. This hexagram concerns the neglected problem that now has to be handled.

Decision Framework

Repair the root cause first.

Decision Guidance

Work on the Decayed is an uncomfortable but useful reading. It appears when the real obstacle is something that should have been dealt with earlier: a mess inherited from a predecessor, a system allowed to drift, or a relationship left unattended.

The instruction is to fix the cause rather than to paint over the symptom. This usually means examining what went wrong originally, taking responsibility for a situation you may not have created, and doing the unglamorous repair work before attempting anything new. Progress resumes only after the decay is addressed.

Judgment — Classical Text

元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，后甲三日。

EN Sublime success; crossing the great water furthers. Three days before the turning, three days after.

The Six Lines — Classical Text

初六：干父之蛊，有子，考无咎。
EN Initial six: remedying the father's decay; there is a son, and the ancestor is without blame.
九二：干母之蛊，不可贞。
EN Nine in the second: remedying the mother's decay — do not be rigid.
九三：干父之蛊，小有悔，无大咎。
EN Nine in the third: remedying the father's decay — small regret, no great blame.
六四：裕父之蛊，往见吝。
EN Six in the fourth: indulging the father's decay — going on brings regret.
六五：干父之蛊，用誉。
EN Six in the fifth: remedying the father's decay — you win praise.
上九：不事王侯，高尚其事。
EN Topmost nine: not serving kings or lords, holding one's own work in honour.

Keywords

I Ching hexagram 18, Work on the Decayed hexagram, Gu hexagram meaning, hexagram for fixing problems