夬 → 蠱
Hexagram 43: Breakthrough → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 壯于前趾。往不勝為咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Mighty in the forward-striding toes. When one goes and is not equal to the task, One makes a mistake.
Line 4
九四 臀无膚。其行次且。牽羊悔亡。聞言不信。
Nine in the fourth place means: There is no skin on his thighs, And walking comes hard. If a man were to let himself be led like a sheep, Remorse would disappear. But if these words are heard They will not be believed.
Line 5
九五 莧陸夬夬。中行无咎。
Nine in the fifth place means: In dealing with weeds, Firm resolution is necessary. Walking in the middle Remains free of blame.
Line 6
上六 无號。終有凶。
Six at the top means: No cry. In the end misfortune comes.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
晨風文翰，大舉就溫。昧過我邑，羿无所得。
Fallen petals follow the water — grab them and they crumble. A butterfly crosses the wall; the spider's web is torn and empty.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Lake risen above heaven meets the wind trapped beneath the mountain. The original verse reads: 'The morning hawk, patterned and elegant, rises in great flocks toward warmth, passing swiftly over my city — even Archer Yi has nothing to catch.' The hawks migrate in such speed and numbers that even the legendary divine archer Yi cannot bring one down. Swiftness and elusiveness defeat even supreme skill. From Breakthrough to Work on the Decayed, decisive force confronts a situation of accumulated corruption that resists direct assault. The mountain blocks the wind beneath it; decay festers unseen. Like the hawk that outruns the arrow, the root problem escapes every attempt at intervention. Repair requires subtlety, not force.
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