Hexagram 18 of 64
Repairing What Has Spoiled
蠱 Gǔ
Upper trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
Lower trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
The judgment
元亨。利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
Supreme success. It is fitting to cross the great river. Three days before the jia day, three days after the jia day.
The Great Image
山下有風，蠱；君子以振民育德。
Below the mountain there is wind: Repairing What Has Spoiled. In the same way, the noble person rouses the people and nurtures character.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
幹父之蠱，有子，考无咎，厲終吉。
Putting in order what the father let decay. There is a son, and the late father has no blame. Danger, and in the end good fortune.
A son takes up what his father left in a bad way, and the danger is named. Ask what you have inherited from your family or a predecessor that you could start repairing.
Line 2 九二
幹母之蠱，不可貞。
Putting in order what the mother let decay. One cannot hold firm.
Repairing what the mother let decay is the one repair here that firmness will not do. Consider how gentleness could change the way you raise an old family hurt.
Line 3 九三
幹父之蠱，小有悔，无大咎。
Putting in order what the father let decay. A little regret. No great blame.
The repair here goes a little too hard and leaves some regret with no great harm done. Ask whether you could accept being clumsy in fixing something that needed it.
Line 4 六四
裕父之蠱，往見吝。
Being lenient with what the father let decay. Going on meets shame.
Going easy on old damage lets it grow, and the line calls that shame. Consider what you have been tolerating because it came to you from someone you respect.
Line 5 六五
幹父之蠱，用譽。
Putting in order what the father let decay. Praise comes of it.
Here the repair brings honor to those involved. Ask who could be thanked openly for what has been set right.
Line 6 上九
不事王侯，高尚其事。
Not serving kings and lords. Holding one's own affairs high.
The last line steps back from serving kings and lords and keeps its own work high. Consider what you could do with your effort once you have done your share of the repair.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is wind below and a mountain above. Wind is trapped at the foot of the mountain and the air goes bad. The character shows insects in a bowl, and the hexagram is about damage built up over time and the work of setting it right.
The judgment speaks of supreme success and of crossing a great river, and it counts three days before and after a starting day. Repair needs planning ahead and checking afterward. Ask what caused this and what could keep it from coming back.
If your question is about an inherited mess at work, a family pattern or a neglected project, tradition reads this as a time to start the repair. The lines caution against too much force and too much tolerance alike. The last line shows that a person may also step away when the work is done.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/蠱), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the third line, Wikisource reads 幹父之蠱，小有悔 (setting right what the father spoiled; a little regret). Project Gutenberg reads 幹父小有晦, which omits 之蠱 and has 晦 (darkness) where Wikisource has 悔 (regret).
- Project Gutenberg writes 無 where Wikisource has 无. These are variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.