蠱
“Correcting” — King Wen #18
Decay in the works: something spoiled must be repaired thoroughly, from the root.
The Judgment 卦辞
元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
Gu indicates great progress and success (to him who deals properly with the condition represented by it). There will be advantage in (efforts like that of) crossing the great stream. (He should weigh well, however, the events of) three days before the turning point, and those (to be done) three days after it.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
幹父之蠱，有子，考無咎，厲終吉。
The first SIX, divided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. If he be an (able) son, the father will escape the blame of having erred. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune in the end.
幹母之蠱，不可貞。
The second NINE, undivided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his mother. He should not (carry) his firm correctness (to the utmost).
幹父之蠱，小有悔，無大咎。
The third NINE, undivided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. There may be some small occasion for repentance, but there will not be any great error.
裕父之蠱，往見吝。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows (a son) viewing indulgently the troubles caused by his father. If he go forward, he will find cause to regret it.
幹父之蠱，用譽。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows (a son) dealing with the troubles caused by his father. He obtains the praise of using (the fit instrument for his work).
不事王侯，高尚其事。
The sixth NINE, undivided, shows us one who does not serve either king or feudal lord, but in a lofty spirit prefers (to attend to) his own affairs.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 18 places wind (巽) beneath mountain (艮) —gentle influence working inward below, stillness holding its ground above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Correcting”:decay in the works: something spoiled must be repaired thoroughly, from the root Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 18
What does 蠱 (gǔ) mean?
Hexagram 18 of the I Ching is named 蠱 (gǔ), usually rendered "Correcting" in English editions. Its figure pairs wind (巽) below with mountain (艮) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 18?
艮 (Mountain) sits above and 巽 (Wind) sits below — the classical picture is gentle influence working inward beneath stillness holding its ground.
How is hexagram 18 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 18 gives hexagram 17 — 隨 (Following). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 17 — 隨 (Following). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 54 — 歸妹 (Converting the Maiden).
Ask your own question
Reading about hexagram 18 is looking it up. Casting it — shaking the tube, watching your own coins fall — is how an answer becomes yours.
Cast this question yourselfNew to casting? How it works · All 64 hexagrams
Related Hexagrams 錯綜互
1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.