Gu, nine in the second placeHexagram 18, line 2 · Gu (Repairing Decay) · changing to 52
The line
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.
The Image commentary on this line
幹母之蠱，得中道也。
"Setting right what the mother spoiled": he finds the middle way.
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 text gives no verdict, but the picture holds an obstacle and a warning. Slow down and watch the point it warns about.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The problem you need to fix involves people whose feelings you have to consider. Forcing it will hurt them and won't get it done either. Don't insist on being strictly right; soften a little, slow down, and find a middle way to change things bit by bit.
- Love
- What needs changing is a soft, sensitive spot in the other person or in the relationship. Speaking too bluntly or demanding an immediate change will only hurt your feelings for each other. Take it slowly, raise it gently, and leave some room.
- Money
- Sorting out old money problems here involves family or people close to you, so you cannot force it. Don't press people with rigid rules. Talk it over and change things as you go, and keep a sense of proportion.
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 yang line in a yin place: it is not in its proper place; it holds the center of its trigram. Its partner is the fifth line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Second place: the center of the lower trigram, a place of praise. Stay centered and yielding.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three backs, old yang), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Gu (Repairing Decay); when this line changes it becomes Gen (Stillness): hexagram 18 changing to 52.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Gen (Stillness)
Stop when it is time to stop, and mind what is properly your own business.