同人 → 蠱
Hexagram 13: Fellowship → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 同人于門。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Fellowship with men at the gate. No blame.
Line 2
六二 同人于宗。吝。
Six in the second place means: Fellowship with men in the clan. Humiliation.
Line 4
九四 乘其墉。弗克攻。吉。
Nine in the fourth place means: He climbs up on his wall; he cannot attack. Good fortune.
Line 5
九五 同人先號咷而後笑。大師克相遇。
Nine in the fifth place means: Men bound in fellowship first weep and lament, But afterward they laugh. After great struggles they succeed in meeting.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
龍渴求飲，黑雲影從；河伯奉觴，跪進酒漿。流潦滂滂。
The dragon, parched, seeks drink; black clouds gather in its wake. The River Lord presents a goblet, kneeling to offer wine and broth. Torrents pour forth in abundance.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven and fire form Fellowship as a thirsty dragon summons the storm. The dragon craves water and dark clouds follow in its wake. The Earl of the River himself kneels to present a goblet, offering wine and spirits to the celestial beast. Then the floodwaters come pouring down. The verse stages a divine audience: the dragon commands, the river god serves, and the heavens open in torrential response. From Fellowship to Work on the Decayed, the transformation shifts from cosmic communion to the grim work of restoration. Wind beneath the mountain in Work on the Decayed stirs up what has stagnated. The dragon's rain, though magnificent, leaves decay in its wake — and decay demands mending.
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