山风蛊
Hexagram 18 points to a situation where something has gone wrong — often gradually, often through neglect or inherited dysfunction. The counsel is not despair but honest diagnosis and deliberate repair. What has decayed can be restored, but only through clear-eyed effort.
蛊：元亨，利涉大川。先甲三日，后甲三日。
整治积弊可致大亨：利于涉险干大事；行动之前与之后都要周密筹划。
Interpretive translationWork on what has been spoiled has supreme success. It furthers one to cross the great water. Before the starting point, three days; after the starting point, three days.
彖曰：蛊，刚上而柔下，巽而止，蛊。蛊元亨，而天下治也。利涉大川，往有事也。先甲三日，后甲三日，终则有始，天行也。
象曰：山下有风，蛊；君子以振民育德。
山下有风，风遇山回、万物待治；君子效法它，振奋民心、培育德行。
干父之蛊，有子，考无咎，厉终吉。
象曰：干父之蛊，意承考也。
Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. With a son, the father remains blameless. Danger, but good fortune in the end.
干母之蛊，不可贞。
象曰：干母之蛊，得中道也。
Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother. One must not be too persevering.
干父之蛊，小有悔，无大咎。
象曰：干父之蛊，终无咎也。
Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. There will be a little remorse, but no great blame.
裕父之蛊，往见吝。
象曰：裕父之蛊，往未得也。
Tolerating what has been spoiled by the father. In continuing one sees humiliation.
干父之蛊，用誉。
象曰：干父用誉，承以德也。
Setting right what has been spoiled by the father. One meets with praise.
不事王侯，高尚其事。
象曰：不事王侯，志可则也。
He does not serve kings and princes, but sets himself higher goals.
Structure
Gu is formed by Mountain (Gen ☶) above Wind (Xun ☴). Wind moves below the mountain but cannot escape — it circulates in a closed space, becoming stagnant. The image is of something that should be moving freely but has become trapped and corrupted. Gen above suggests stillness and obstruction; Xun below suggests penetrating influence that has nowhere to go. Together they describe a system that has lost its healthy circulation.
Core meaning
The character Gu originally depicted a vessel containing worms — something that has been left too long and begun to rot from within. The hexagram carries this image of internal corruption that has developed over time, often unnoticed until it becomes impossible to ignore.
Gu frequently refers to problems inherited from the past — from parents, from predecessors, from earlier decisions that were never properly resolved. The classic text speaks of correcting what the father left undone. This is not about blame but about responsibility: someone must address what has accumulated, and that someone is you, now.
The hexagram is ultimately optimistic. Decay that is recognized can be corrected. The work is difficult and requires patience — the traditional text suggests three days before and three days after the turning point, meaning careful preparation and careful follow-through. But the correction is possible.
In Liuyao readings, Gu often signals that the current problem has deeper roots than it appears. Surface fixes will not hold. The querent needs to trace the issue back to its origin and address it there. This may involve confronting uncomfortable truths about family patterns, organizational culture, or long-standing personal habits.
In divination
When Gu appears in a reading, the first question is: what has been neglected? The second is: how long has it been neglected? The longer the neglect, the more thorough the repair needs to be. Quick fixes are unlikely to work here.
Gu is challenging for questions about immediate results or short-term gains. It is more relevant for questions about long-term health, family matters, organizational problems, and situations where the querent senses that something is fundamentally off but cannot quite identify what.
Move from research into a real reading
If this page helped you frame the question, the next step is to run a reading with that same clarity.