I Ching Oracle Result: Transformation from Hexagram 18 with Changing Lines 2, 3, 4 to Hexagram 35

Yin Yang symbol, representing balance

Yì Jīng’s Response: Hexagram 18.2.3.4 -> 35

Young Yang Young Yin Old Yin Old Yang Old Yang Young Yin

18. Correction of Decay

Yang Yin Yang Yin Yin Yin

35. Advancement

18. Correction of Decay (蠱 Gǔ)

Trigrams

Above
☶ Gèn (Mountain)
Below
☴ Xùn (Wind)

The Symbolism of Hexagram 18

Hexagram 蠱 (Gǔ) describes a condition of accumulated disorder—something that has been left unattended and has deteriorated over time. It requires deliberate intervention to restore proper structure.

Hexagram 18 Judgment

The Judgment reads:
Original Chinese:
蠱，元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，後甲三日。
(Gǔ, yuán hēng, lì shè dà chuān. Xiān jiǎ sān rì, hòu jiǎ sān rì.)
English Translation:
"Correction of decay. From the origin, there is smooth progress. It is favorable to cross the great river. Three days before the turning point, three days after."

This describes a situation requiring active correction of what has been allowed to degrade. Movement is possible, but only through deliberate effort.

The reference to time indicates preparation and follow-through. Repair is not instantaneous—it requires understanding what led to the condition and sustaining the correction beyond the initial change.

Hexagram 18 Image

The Image reads:
Original Chinese:
風行山上，蠱。君子以振民育德。
(Fēng xíng shān shàng, gǔ. Jūn zǐ yǐ zhèn mín yù dé.)
English Translation:
"Wind moving across the mountain: this is decay. The superior person stirs what is stagnant and cultivates what sustains."

The image shows penetration beneath stillness—movement entering what has become fixed. This reveals underlying disorder.

The response is to activate what has become dormant and rebuild what supports continuity. Correction requires both disruption and renewal.

Line 2 Changing

This line reads:
Original Chinese:
干母之蠱，不可贞。
(Gàn mǔ zhī gǔ, bù kě zhēn.)
English Translation:
"Correcting what was shaped through nurture. It is not favorable to apply rigid persistence."

This line concerns conditions formed through support or care. Correction here requires sensitivity.

Rigid insistence disrupts rather than repairs. Flexibility is necessary to restore balance.

Line 3 Changing

This line reads:
Original Chinese:
干父之蠱，小有悔，无大咎。
(Gàn fù zhī gǔ, xiǎo yǒu huǐ, wú dà jiù.)
English Translation:
"Correcting what was handed down. There is some regret, but no major fault."

Efforts to repair inherited disorder may involve missteps. Not all adjustments are clean.

However, as long as the correction continues, the overall outcome remains sound.

Line 4 Changing

This line reads:
Original Chinese:
裕父之蠱，往见吝。
(Yù fù zhī gǔ, wǎng jiàn lìn.)
English Translation:
"Allowing the inherited disorder to remain. Moving forward brings difficulty."

Failure to correct the condition allows it to persist and deepen.

Continuing without intervention leads to increasing constraint and regret.

Changing to:

35. Advancement (晉 Jìn)

Trigrams

Above
☲ Lí (Fire)
Below
☷ Kūn (Earth)

The Symbolism of Hexagram 35

Hexagram 晉 (Jìn) describes advancement—visibility and movement into the open. What was previously internal or restrained now becomes expressed and recognized.

Fire above earth shows light rising from a receptive base. Illumination spreads outward, making what was hidden visible. Advancement here is not forceful expansion, but emergence into clarity.

Hexagram 35 Judgment

The Judgment reads:
Original Chinese:
晉，康侯用錫馬蕃庶，晝日三接。
(Jìn, kāng hóu yòng xī mǎ fán shù, zhòu rì sān jiē.)
English Translation:
"Advancement. One is supported and brought forward repeatedly within the same cycle."

This describes a condition where progress is recognized and reinforced. Advancement is not isolated—it is sustained through repeated acknowledgment and support.

The imagery reflects rapid access and continued reception. Movement forward is enabled by alignment with the environment, not by force.

Hexagram 35 Image

The Image reads:
Original Chinese:
明出地上，晉。君子以自昭明德。
(Míng chū dì shàng, jìn. Jūn zǐ yǐ zì zhāo míng dé.)
English Translation:
"Light emerges above the earth: advancement. One makes clarity visible from within."

Light rises from the earth and becomes visible. This represents internal clarity becoming externally expressed.

Advancement occurs through illumination. What is aligned internally naturally becomes apparent outwardly.

Peace and wisdom on your journey!

With gratitude,
The I Ching Team