I Ching: Saturday, October 17

One of the sixty-four hexagrams

This is an archived reading, kept as it was published.

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Work on the Decayed

Hexagram 18 shows a bowl with worms in it, something left standing until it bred. It is the hexagram of inherited mess, and it is unusually optimistic. The Judgment calls the repair worth crossing the great water for, and adds a schedule: three days before the turning point, three days after. Today suits naming one thing that went bad before it reached you and starting to set it right. Prepare first. Match your manner to the damage, since the second line warns that some of it cannot be attacked head-on. The only unfavourable line is the one that tolerates the rot.

For your star sign

The same reading, taken through each sign of the zodiac.

Aries

Tearing straight into the mess is your instinct. The Judgment schedules it instead: three days of preparation before the turning point, three of consolidation after. Start the repair, but start with the plan.

Taurus

Living around a problem comes more naturally to you than disturbing it. The fourth line names exactly that, tolerating what the father spoiled, and it is the only line here with a plain negative verdict. Begin the repair.

Gemini

You can describe the inherited mess brilliantly. This hexagram wants it cleaned. Talk is wind under the mountain, which the Image says goes stale unless it rouses people to actual work.

Cancer

Family damage is this hexagram's subject, and you feel it more than most. The second line suits your tenderness: setting right what the mother spoiled, without being too firm. Some repair has to be gentle to work.

Leo

Repair is unglamorous, and the fifth line still finds praise in it: the work done well and recognised. Take on the old problem nobody wanted. In this hexagram the credit goes to whoever fixed it.

Virgo

Fixing what is broken is your gift, and the third line accepts that you may overdo it: a little regret, no great blame. Go ahead and be thorough. The classic prefers imperfect zeal to tolerated rot.

Libra

Repairing what someone else spoiled can feel to you like assigning blame. The first line sees it the other way: the repair frees the person who caused the damage from blame. Fixing it is the kind thing.

Scorpio

Decay that others have learned not to see is plain to you. That is useful here. Name the bowl with worms in it, then clear it, because this hexagram does not reward knowing about rot without acting on it.

Sagittarius

Leaving the old mess behind and starting somewhere new may appeal. The top line allows that for some, setting higher aims outside the structure. Be honest about whether this is that line or simply avoidance.

Capricorn

Inherited institutions are your natural ground, and Gu is about repairing them. Take the long view the Judgment gives: worth crossing the great water for, prepared three days ahead, consolidated three days after.

Aquarius

The systemic rot is clear to you and you want reform. The Image's method is to rouse the people and nurture their character. Stir the stale air and get others working on the repair beside you.

Pisces

Old family patterns pull at you, and this hexagram says they are fixable. Begin with the smallest spoiled thing within reach. The repair here is a project, not a mood, and the first step counts.

For your Chinese animal

The same reading, taken through each animal of the Chinese zodiac.

Rat

You have probably known about this decay for a while and worked around it. The fourth line marks working around it as the mistake. Put your resourcefulness into clearing it instead.

Ox

Slow repair is your specialty, and Gu treats repair as the normal outcome rather than a miracle. Start on what was left to you. The fifth line expects praise for work done steadily and well.

Tiger

A head-on attack suits the father's damage and not the mother's. The second line warns that some inherited mess cannot be corrected by confrontation. In this hexagram you choose your manner by the kind of damage.

Rabbit

Facing an old mess can feel like starting a quarrel. The classic is gentler than that. The second line says do not be too firm, and the whole hexagram expects the repair to be possible.

Dragon

Restoration on a grand scale appeals to you. Gu frames repair as a major undertaking, worth crossing the great water for. Bring the ambition, and attach the three days of preparation the Judgment asks for.

Snake

Perhaps you are quietly tolerating something you know is rotten, waiting for the right moment. The fourth line warns that waiting turns into tolerance. Set the turning point and count your three days back from it.

Horse

Moving forward appeals to you far more than cleaning up behind you. This hexagram makes the clean-up the way forward. Wind trapped under a mountain goes stale, so stir it, fix what it spoiled, and then move on.

Goat

The mess may belong to people you care about, which makes it hard to touch. The first line says repairing it lifts the blame from them. Treat the work as something you do for them.

Monkey

A clever patch will tempt you. The hexagram asks for real repair: the bowl cleaned, not covered. Use the ingenuity on the work itself and the patch will not be needed.

Rooster

Every fault in what was handed down is on your list. Gu wants one of them fixed. The third line allows a little overzealousness in the doing, so pick a fault and set it right.

Dog

Loyalty to the people who made the mess can keep you quiet about it. The first line resolves that: the son's repair frees the father from blame. Being loyal in this hexagram means doing the work.

Pig

Stirring up an old problem is the last thing you want. The Image says stirring is the remedy, since wind trapped under a mountain is how things go stale. A little discomfort now clears it.

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