Repairing Decay (蠱, Gǔ) is hexagram 18 of the 64 hexagrams of the I
Ching, in the traditional King Wen order. It is made of Mountain (☶)
above Wind (☴).
Meaning of hexagram 18
Something inherited has been left to spoil. The mess can be traced to
neglect, and it can also be fixed.
Advice
Find the root cause, clean it up thoroughly, and give the repair careful
thought at both ends.
The two trigrams
Repairing Decay places ☶ Mountain (Gèn), still, steady and restrained,
above ☴ Wind (Xùn), gentle, gradual and penetrating. The lower trigram
is the inner side of the situation and the upper one its outer side.
Hexagram
18. Repairing Decay
Chinese name
蠱 Gǔ
Upper trigram
☶ Mountain (Gèn)
Lower trigram
☴ Wind (Xùn)
Lines
3 yang (solid) and 3 yin (broken)
Place in the sequence
18 of 64 (King Wen order)
The six lines of Repairing Decay
A hexagram is read from the bottom line up. In a reading, a changing
line (a 6 or a 9 in the three-coin method) draws attention to its
position.
First line(yin, broken): the beginning. The root
of the matter: early stirrings, foundations, and what has not yet
shown itself.
Second line(yang, solid): the inner circle. Your
immediate surroundings and steady supports: how things work at close
range.
Third line(yang, solid): the threshold. A point
of tension between inner and outer, often a test or a restless push
forward.
Fourth line(yin, broken): the approach. Stepping
into wider circles or nearer to authority; caution and good
relationships matter here.
Fifth line(yin, broken): the center of power. The
place of influence and clear leadership: where the situation is most
fully expressed.
Sixth line(yang, solid): the culmination. The far
edge of the situation: completion, overreach, or letting go.