# Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/18
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Gen 艮](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/gen), Mountain, keeping still
- **Lower trigram:** [Xun 巽](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/xun), Wind, the gentle, penetrating
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 011001 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Work on what has been spoiled. Decay has set in quietly, often through long neglect. This is not a cause for despair; it is a call to begin the restoration. Face what has been avoided and begin the patient work of repair. The situation is not beyond saving.

## Image

Wind beneath the mountain, carrying corruption. The superior person arouses the people and strengthens their character.

## Counsel

Look honestly at what has been neglected: in your health, your relationships, your work, your inner life. Do not panic, and do not rush. Begin with the most quietly essential thing and give it real attention. Small, persistent repair now prevents much larger losses later.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A six at the beginning means:
> Setting right what has been spoiled by the father.
> If there is a son,
> no blame remains on the departed father.
> Danger. In the end good fortune.

### Line 2

> A nine in the second place means:
> Setting right what has been spoiled by the mother.
> One may not be too persevering.

### Line 3

> A nine in the third place means:
> Setting right what has been spoiled by the father.
> There will be a little remorse. No great blame.

### Line 4

> A six in the fourth place means:
> Tolerating what has been spoiled by the father.
> In going on, one sees humiliation.

### Line 5

> A six in the fifth place means:
> Setting right what has been spoiled by the father.
> One finds praise.

### Line 6

> A nine at the top means:
> He does not serve kings and princes.
> He sets himself higher goals.

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [54 The Marrying Maiden](https://thefreeiching.com/library/54)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [17 Following](https://thefreeiching.com/library/17)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [17 Following](https://thefreeiching.com/library/17)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [26 Great Taming](https://thefreeiching.com/library/26) |
| Line 2 | [52 Keeping Still](https://thefreeiching.com/library/52) |
| Line 3 | [4 Youthful Folly](https://thefreeiching.com/library/4) |
| Line 4 | [50 The Cauldron](https://thefreeiching.com/library/50) |
| Line 5 | [57 The Gentle](https://thefreeiching.com/library/57) |
| Line 6 | [46 Pushing Upward](https://thefreeiching.com/library/46) |

Previous: [17 Following](https://thefreeiching.com/library/17). Next: [19 Approach](https://thefreeiching.com/library/19). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 18: Work on the Decayed." https://thefreeiching.com/library/18 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/18). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.