蠱 → 咸
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 31: Influence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 4, 5, 6).
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 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.
Line 5
六五 幹父之蠱。用譽。
Six in the fifth place means: Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. One meets with praise.
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
後時失利，不得所欲；莫亨偕結，自逐自逐。
Behind the times, losing the advantage; unable to get what one desires. No success in joining together -- chasing, chasing, ever chasing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain loses its moment, and the transformation rises to the lake resting upon the mountain — the receptive stillness of Influence. Missing the right time brings lost advantage; one cannot obtain what is desired. Unable to achieve harmony or form alliances, one chases after oneself in circles. The verse describes a compounding failure: timing missed, desires thwarted, connections broken, leaving only futile self-pursuit. From Work on the Decayed to Influence, the remedy is counterintuitive — stop chasing. The lake upon the mountain is still, open, and receptive. Influence (Xian) works through emptiness, through the hollow space that allows feeling to pass through. One who stops grasping may finally be reached.
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