蠱 → 大有
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 14: Great Possession
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 4).
Line 1
初六 幹父之蠱。有子。考无咎。厲終吉。
Six in the beginning means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. If there is a son, No blame rests upon the departed father. Danger. In the end good fortune.
Line 4
六四 裕父之蠱。往見吝。
Six in the fourth place means: Tolerating what has been spoiled by the father. In continuing one sees humiliation.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
日短夜長，祿命分張；早離父兄，免見憂傷。
Days are short and nights are long; fortune and lifespan diverge. Better to leave father and brothers early, than to witness grief and sorrow.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain shortens the light, and the transformation ascends to fire blazing in heaven — Great Possession. Days grow short and nights stretch long; fortune and lifespan pull apart. Leave father and brothers early, and you will be spared from witnessing sorrow. The verse counsels timely departure — whether from a doomed household, a failing enterprise, or life itself — as a form of mercy. The seasonal imagery of winter's short days reinforces the sense of diminishing time. From Work on the Decayed to Great Possession, the paradox emerges: true abundance sometimes means knowing what to relinquish. Fire in heaven shines brightest when unencumbered, and the one who departs before the collapse preserves both dignity and memory intact.
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