升 → 蠱
Hexagram 46: Pushing Upward → Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 6).
Line 6
上六 冥升。利于不息之貞。
Six at the top means: Pushing upward in darkness. It furthers one To be unremittingly persevering.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
盲者張目，跛踦起行。瞻望日月，與王相迎。
The blind man opens his eyes; the lame man rises and walks. They gaze upon the sun and moon, and go forth to greet the king.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wood grows within the earth, and a miraculous restoration unfolds before our eyes. The blind open their eyes and see; the lame rise and walk once more. They gaze upon the sun and moon in wonder and go forth to greet the king in audience. Mountain over wind, the image of Work on the Decayed, calls for reviving what has deteriorated through neglect and time. The verse reads like a healing miracle: faculties once lost are fully recovered, and the restored subjects present themselves before their sovereign with renewed dignity. From Pushing Upward to Work on the Decayed, the organic ascent encounters a structure in need of repair and breathes new life into it. Decay is not final destruction — it is the ground from which renewal rises.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store