蠱 → 復
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 24: Return
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 6).
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 2
九二 幹母之蠱。不可貞。
Nine in the second place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother. One must not be too persevering.
Line 3
九三 幹父之蠱。小有悔。无大咎。
Nine in the third place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. There will be a little remorse. No great blame.
Line 6
上九 不事王侯。高尚其事。
Nine at the top means: He does not serve kings and princes, Sets himself higher goals.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
螮蝀充側，佞人傾惑；女謁橫行，正道壅塞。
The rainbow looms at his side; flatterers beguile and deceive. Women peddle influence unchecked; the proper way is blocked.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain breeds illusions, and the transformation descends to thunder hidden in the earth — the turning point of Return. The rainbow looms at the side, as sycophants bewitch and mislead. Women's petitions run unchecked, blocking the righteous path entirely. The rainbow (螮蝀) echoes the Shijing ode from the Yong winds, where the rainbow is an omen of sexual impropriety and moral disorder. 'Women's petitions' (女謁) refers to feminine influence over court appointments — a classic warning against inner-palace interference in governance. From Work on the Decayed to Return, hope persists: thunder in the earth is the single yang line returning at the winter solstice. Even when flattery and corruption have sealed every avenue, the seed of renewal stirs beneath the frozen ground.
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