蠱 → 未濟
Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed → Hexagram 64: Before Completion
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 3, 4).
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 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
固陰沍寒，常冰不溫；凌人情怠，大雹為災。
Solid yin, bitter cold, ice that never warms; the icehouse steward grows slack -- great hail becomes a disaster.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind beneath the mountain freezes solid, and the transformation burns as fire above water — the eternal incompletion of Before Completion. Stubborn yin congeals into bitter cold; the ice never warms. The icehouse officer grows negligent; great hailstones bring disaster. The verse presents the most extreme form of decay: cold so entrenched that it becomes permanent, officials so complacent that they fail their duties, and the heavens themselves respond with destructive hail. From Work on the Decayed to Before Completion, the final transformation refuses closure. Fire above water — each element in the wrong position — means the work is never truly done. The frozen landscape is a reminder: decay is not a problem to be solved once but a condition requiring perpetual attention.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store