蠱Gu · Repairing Decay
In one sentence
Old problems that have piled up have reached the point where they must be dealt with.
Something left sitting so long it has bred worms: a fault built up over a long time, most likely handed down from the past. Make up your mind to clean house. It is worth doing, and it can be done. Think it through before you start, and see it through after you start. There is no need to be hard on those who came before; just put things right.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The trouble at work did not appear overnight; most of it is a mess left from before, and the time has come when it has to be cleaned up. It is worth making up your mind to overhaul it, and it can be done. Think the plan through before you start, stay on it to the end once you have started, and do not go looking for whose fault it was; just fix things.
- Love
- There is an old problem in the relationship that has sat untouched for a long time and has gone bad inside. Now is the time to open it up and repair it properly, not to keep pretending nothing is wrong. Some of these faults were brought in from each person's family and past; there is no need to blame anyone, but they must change. If you are single, first sort out the knots the last relationship left behind.
- Money
- The money problems have built up over a long time: muddled accounts, old debts, habits that keep leaking money. Now is the time for a thorough cleanup: first find out exactly where things stand, set the rules, then keep watch so it does not slide back. It is a nuisance, but worth doing; the longer you put it off, the deeper the rot goes.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsThings have rotted as far as they can, which is exactly when they can be put right; things go through in a big way, and you can cross the great river. Three days before the start, think through how to renew things; three days after the start, keep repeating the warnings so it does not go bad again.
The Tuan commentary
蠱，剛上而柔下，巽而止，蠱。蠱，元亨，而天下治也。利涉大川，往有事也。先甲三日，後甲三日，終則有始，天行也。
Gu: the firm is above and the yielding below. Gentle, and at a halt: Gu. "Gu. Great success", and all under heaven is put in order. "It is favorable to cross the great river": in going there is work to do. "Three days before the first day, three days after the first day": where there is an end there is a beginning. This is the movement of heaven.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
山下有風，蠱。君子以振民育德。
Wind below the mountain: Gu (Repairing Decay). The noble one rouses the people and nurtures virtue.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text幹父之蠱，有子，考无咎，厲終吉。Setting right what the father spoiled. There is a son, so the late father is without blame. Danger, but good fortune in the end.In plain wordsCleaning up the mess left by your father's generation. With a son like this, the father can be spared blame. The trouble doesn't run deep yet, so it is manageable; but there is still risk. Know the danger, go carefully, and in the end there is good fortune. More on this line →
Nine in the second place
Text幹母之蠱，不可貞。Setting right what the mother spoiled. One must not persist.In plain wordsDealing with problems left by your mother's generation. You must not be too unbending or too insistent; go along with things and take it slowly. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text幹父之蠱，小有悔，无大咎。Setting right what the father spoiled. A little regret, no great blame.In plain wordsCleaning up the father's mess with a slightly heavy hand. There will be a little regret, but no great blame. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text裕父之蠱，往見吝。Indulging what the father spoiled. Going on, one meets humiliation.In plain wordsBeing lenient and letting the father's problems slide. Carry on like this and the fault only gets deeper; go forward and you will be embarrassed. More on this line →
Six in the fifth place
Text幹父之蠱，用譽。Setting right what the father spoiled. One meets with praise.In plain wordsCleaning up the father's mess, and earning a good name for it. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text不事王侯，高尚其事。He does not serve kings and lords. He holds his own pursuits high.In plain wordsNot working for kings and lords, holding your own pursuits in high regard. Standing outside of affairs and staying detached. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Gu belongs to the third pentad of Clear and Bright, “Rainbows first appear” (April 15 to April 19, 2027).