Hexagram 18 changing to 26: Work on What Has Been Spoiled to Great Taming

Where it starts: 18 Work on What Has Been Spoiled

Repairing decay: something has been neglected, and the work is to set it right with care before and after. Wind below, mountain above: wind stopped at the foot of a mountain, air gone stale. The Chinese character shows worms in a bowl. Work on What Has Been Spoiled describes damage that came from neglect or indulgence, often inherited from a previous generation or a previous decision, and the reading is favourable because it says the damage can be repaired. The tradition asks for deliberation before the work begins, three days before and three days after, and it supports crossing the great water: a large task is called for and can be done.

Where it goes: 26 Great Taming

Great power held and stored: strength restrained by something firm, gathering for a large task. Heaven below, mountain above: heaven's force held within a mountain. Great Taming describes creative power accumulated and disciplined by something solid, and the tradition treats it as very favourable: it is worth crossing the great water, and it is worth not eating at home, which means taking one's talents into public service. The reading says you have, or are gathering, real strength, and that the restraint on it is not an obstacle but the thing that makes it usable. Study, character and stored knowledge are the mountain's contents. The time for the large undertaking is near.

The lines that move

1. Line 1

   Setting right what the father spoiled. If there is a son, no blame falls on the departed. Danger, then good fortune.

   Inherited damage, from a parent, a predecessor or the past, which the present person takes responsibility for. It is risky and it is right, and it clears the blame from everyone. Take on the inherited problem as your own; it ends well.

What is changing. The situation of Work on What Has Been Spoiled is moving toward Great Taming. Deliberate, repair the decay thoroughly, and watch that it does not return. As the change completes: Store your strength under discipline, prepare thoroughly, then undertake the large task.

love and relationships

Now: Something between you has been let slide, perhaps for a long time, and the reading says it can be mended. Look at how it decayed before you act, act with care, and stay attentive afterwards so it does not slide back. Then: Strong feeling, held with discipline. The restraint is right for now and it is building something. The reading supports commitment to a substantial relationship and warns against wasting the accumulated strength on impulse.

career

Now: Fixing what a predecessor left, or what you neglected. The reading favours taking on the repair, including a large one, with proper preparation and follow-through. Blame is not the point; correction is. Then: Real capability stored and about to be used. The reading favours the large undertaking and public responsibility. Prepare thoroughly; the restraint you feel is the mountain doing its work.

money

Now: Neglected finances, an inherited mess, a debt let run. It can be sorted. Plan the repair carefully, do it thoroughly, and check it afterwards; half-measures let the rot return. Then: Accumulation: saving, building reserves, restraining spending so that a large investment becomes possible. The reading supports the big move once the store is sufficient, not before.

decisions

Now: Decide to address the decay rather than to work around it. The careful, thorough option is right, even if it is larger. Deliberate first, then act, then watch. Then: Decide for the substantial, well-prepared option. The reading supports crossing the great water. Ask whether the strength has been gathered; if it has, go.