Hello all

I got 18 Ku / Work on what has been spoiled [ Decay ] in a recent reading I did and I'm confused about what action to take. Basically, if something is in bad shape you either fix it or get rid of it (eliminating something that isn't needed can also be considered a solution). Which one this time?

I asked what would be the best course of action regarding this person who I like very much, but have had troubling and painful experiences with.

I think the general image of 18 illustrates the situation well. Things definitely feel spoiled between us, and it's undeniable that it is this way because mistakes have been made. I asked for advice on what to do about it, trying to keep it open enough to receive advice in any direction. I didn't get anything obvious with keywords like separation or reconciliation, and I've been cracking my head trying to find which direction to go from this hexagram.

It seems this can be taken two different ways (excerpts from Wilhelm/Baines):

1. "the conditions embody a
demand for removal of the cause." Removal of the cause - this person is making me miserable since the conditions between us two aren't good, and I should cut them out of my life at least temporarily until I feel better (strongly leaning toward this one).

2. "What has been spoiled through man's fault can be made good again through
man's work." & "Work toward improving conditions promises well, because it accords the
possibilities of the time." - I should not give up on them despite the difficulties and work toward making things between us better, being careful not to repeat past mistakes. I find this unlikely to happen, perhaps "improving conditions" means not to try to fix things with this person, but to distance myself from them instead?

It would have been near perfect if I had asked for an overview of the situation, but I need help on how to act... I know it's a lot, but if anyone can give insight on this it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Perhaps you need a follow up question for clarity. For example "what steps should I take to work on what has been spoiled?" 18 says for you to cross the great stream and work on what has been spoiled. It says for you to follow through with your intentions and evaluate 3 days before and 3 days after.

If in your heart (gut) you would rather remove the person from your life, then do so. The thing with it being unchanging, I believe the situation will remain spoiled if you do nothing. Majority of the advice in the Iching seems to be to act in moderation, following the middle way, listening to your inner truth, watching for the right times and seasons. Doing what is best for yourself and all involved seems the way of the suprior man.

Only you know what has been spoiled and how. Only you know what the right thing to do is. Perhaps some meditation would help.

I have no ideas about your reading, but wanted to let you know there's a thread dedicated to 18 unchanging, here:

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?16697-Your-Experiences-with-Unchanging-Castings-Hexagram-18

It's part of a whole series on unchanging hexagrams, with one thread for each. The links to the individual threads are collected here:

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?16301-List-of-unchanging-hexagrams-threads.

Hopefully something in there will help .

blue_angel said:

Perhaps you need a follow up question for clarity. For example "what steps should I take to work on what has been spoiled?" 18 says for you to cross the great stream and work on what has been spoiled. It says for you to follow through with your intentions and evaluate 3 days before and 3 days after.

If in your heart (gut) you would rather remove the person from your life, then do so. The thing with it being unchanging, I believe the situation will remain spoiled if you do nothing. Majority of the advice in the Iching seems to be to act in moderation, following the middle way, listening to your inner truth, watching for the right times and seasons. Doing what is best for yourself and all involved seems the way of the suprior man.

Only you know what has been spoiled and how. Only you know what the right thing to do is. Perhaps some meditation would help.

Click to expand...

I actually did a reading the following day asking what I could do to improve the decayed situation, and got 46.1.2 Pushing Upward (not sure about the nomenclature. This means lines 1 and 2 are changing, right?) -> 36 Darkening of the Light.

It wasn't very clarifying and I got the feeling that I should have "listened" more closely to my first reading and that I may have rushed into asking for another answer. The hexagram resulting from moving lines is commonly interpreted as the future or what will happen if you follow the original hexagram, but I read on a section on this site that that isn't always the case; that the second hexagram can be a representation of the current situation or of an individual presently involved.

It made me even more confused so I decided to ignore that second reading until I have a better grasp of the first one. I already had an idea of how I wanted to proceed, but I needed some guidance. Even if I don't know exactly what to take from this reading, it's at least making me think a lot and avoid jumping into hasty decisions.

Thank you!

lisa said:

I have no ideas about your reading, but wanted to let you know there's a thread dedicated to 18 unchanging, here:

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?16697-Your-Experiences-with-Unchanging-Castings-Hexagram-18

It's part of a whole series on unchanging hexagrams, with one thread for each. The links to the individual threads are collected here:

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/showthread.php?16301-List-of-unchanging-hexagrams-threads.

Hopefully something in there will help .

Click to expand...

Oh, that's actually where I first posted this but then I saw "Shared Readings" and thought that it belonged here instead. I'll take this post there, thanks!

You don't have to move this. I've been a culprit myself, but those threads are more for examples we think we understand. I posted the links for reference, in case information in the 18uc thread might help you with your reading. In a case like this one of yours, a possible approach might be to keep the discussion here in Shared Readings for now, and then if you figure out what you think it means, post a description and a link to this thread in the 18 Unchanging thread.

But as I said - I've posted things in those threads that should have been posted here instead. If I had it to do over, I'd do what I said above, but people were nice about it.

Hello, vitzyy, and welcome.
I see 18 as an opportunity to fix what is not right, to correct errors that were made in the past.
In my case it wasn't like I didn't know things have been messed up in my life for a long time but I didn't have the capacity to deal with them back then. When I got 18 unchanging it was in the time when I started to feel that I cannot keep going like this anymore and need to do something about it and what's the most important, I started to feel like I'm able to do something about it. I'm not exactly sure what to do yet but I'm facing the problem now and I'm sure I'll find a solution eventually.

36 seems to describe your current situation, says your environment is difficult now, even hostile to you in some respect. The lines of 46 seems auspicious so I'd say you're going in the right direction but you can't get anywhere in one big jump, it's more about a steady progress, one step at a time, because you're not in a strong position and your resources are limited. I think that 36 advises you stay true to yourself, avoid confrontations, be cautious, reserved and humble.
P.S. I'm still a beginner so, please, bear that in mind.

kafuka said:

Hello, vitzyy, and welcome.
I see 18 as an opportunity to fix what is not right, to correct errors that were made in the past.
In my case it wasn't like I didn't know things have been messed up in my life for a long time but I didn't have the capacity to deal with them back then. When I got 18 unchanging it was in the time when I started to feel that I cannot keep going like this anymore and need to do something about it and what's the most important, I started to feel like I'm able to do something about it. I'm not exactly sure what to do yet but I'm facing the problem now and I'm sure I'll find a solution eventually.

36 seems to describe your current situation, says your environment is difficult now, even hostile to you in some respect. The lines of 46 seems auspicious so I'd say you're going in the right direction but you can't get anywhere in one big jump, it's more about a steady progress, one step at a time, because you're not in a strong position and your resources are limited. I think that 36 advises you stay true to yourself, avoid confrontations, be cautious, reserved and humble.
P.S. I'm still a beginner so, please, bear that in mind.

Click to expand...

I can relate to your situation. I'm also at a point where I can't allow things to continue the way they are, and like you observed, the circumstances around this situation are very difficult for me. There is nothing holding me back from taking a step towards changing it, I just don't know how I'm going to handle the consequences ("three days after") so it's scary to make a commitment to this decision. It's encouraging to hear that you feel like you're able to take action though. I hope everything turns out well on your end.

Thank you for your input! I'm a beginner myself, but I hope to one day understand a lot more and be able to help here. I'll definitely come back a few months after doing what I think needs to be done and update with the outcome.

It's as much about stagnation as decay, and getting stuck in patterns that go nowhere.
Look for patterns of behavior that keep repeating and keep leading to unwanted results.
Find a way to start doing those things differently (stir things up).