蠱 → 明夷
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 36: Darkening of the Light
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 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 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
葛纍蒙棘，華不得實；讒佞亂政，使恩壅塞。
Kudzu vine entangles the thorns; blossoms cannot bear fruit. Slanderers and flatterers disrupt governance, blocking the flow of grace.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain tangles into thorns, and the transformation sinks as light entering the earth — the Darkening of the Light. Kudzu vines cling to brambles; flowers bloom but bear no fruit. Slander and flattery disorder governance, blocking the flow of royal grace. The botanical imagery is precise: parasitic vines strangling a thorny host produce blossoms that are sterile — beautiful but fruitless, like a court where eloquent sycophants produce nothing of substance. From Work on the Decayed to Darkening of the Light, corruption reaches the point where wisdom itself must hide. The light descends into the earth not in defeat but in strategic concealment, preserving its brightness within while darkness rules above.
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