Gu, six at the beginningHexagram 18, line 1 · Gu (Repairing Decay) · changing to 26
The line
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.
The Image commentary on this line
幹父之蠱，意承考也。
"Setting right what the father spoiled": in intent he carries on for his late father.
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
慎Proceed with care. The outcome can be good, but the text carries a warning. Take the warning seriously and the good outcome is yours.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- What you have taken over is a problem left by those before you. It doesn't run deep yet, so this is the time to clean it up. Be clear that there is risk and go carefully. You are mending things for your predecessors, not settling old scores, and in the end it turns out well.
- Love
- In love, you carry old faults brought in from the past or from family. They don't run deep yet, so now is the time to fix them. Go carefully as you do: this is not about rejecting the past but about mending it. Done this way, it ends well.
- Money
- The holes left by old accounts and old habits are not big yet, so now is the right time to deal with them. Know that there is risk, and don't rush into big changes. Patch them up step by step, and in the end things can be put in order.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Gu.
Line position
A yin line in a yang place: it is not in its proper place. Its partner is the fourth line, which is also yin, so there is no answer from it.
First place: the beginning of the matter. Low position, little power. Begin carefully.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three inscribed sides, old yin), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Gu (Repairing Decay); when this line changes it becomes Daxu (Great Restraint): hexagram 18 changing to 26.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Daxu (Great Restraint)
You have saved up plenty of capital. Time to take it out and use it.