yo
tyler
18

Gu :: Contamination

Crossing the great river: Before jia1 three days: after jia three days

蠱
䷑
6 :: first
Influence of a dead patriarch. Having a son is auspicious. Danger. Good fortune.
You have inherited a perplexing situation of someone else's making. There is no need to analyze. If you simply take responsibility, like a dutiful child, and act creatively, all goes well. The unknown cause (ghost) will be reversed (released/exorcised).
9 :: second
Influence of a dead matriarch. Unclear. Inauspicious.
You are indirectly involved in or carelessly fall into a complicated situation you can neither understand nor change. You are guilty by association. To go forward stubbornly or try to make your case will only bring misfortune. Wait-do not act.
6 :: third
Influence of a dead patriarch. Small trouble. No misfortune.
You have inherited an undeserved, difficult situation that can be easily remedied or cured. Even if the difficulty is clearly not your fault, do not over react or complain, just fix it.
9 :: fourth
Indulging the father. Continuing brings misfortune.
An incomplete cure causes an illness to relapse. Be meticulous, forthright and thorough in dealing with an inherited problem or illness. Indulging in complaint or leaving things half-resolved invites relapse, future humiliation or embarrassment.
9 :: fifth
Clear the influence of a dead patriarch with kind eulogy.
Once you are thoroughly vindicated, cleansed, and/or healed, make a clear declaration of your recovery. Cauterize the wound. When someone dies, there needs to be a funeral, a solemn removal of the corpse to its grave and then a eulogy to complete the separation (grieving) for everyone involved.
6 :: top
Serve neither king nor lord. Withdraw.
You are held responsible for an inherited problem that is impossible for you to honorably resolve. It is best to renounce your position and withdraw. Only an extraordinary purification (exorcism) will lift the curse. Do not struggle.
Image

Gu has a many faceted meaning. Gu refers to a curse or the negative influence (curse) of an unsettled ancestral spirit (ghost) and its calling out for resolu-tion. The traditional resolution includes divination and an exorcistic ritual on an astrologically auspicious day.2

Gu3 also refers to offending one's ancestors by mistakenly placing inappropriate, contaminated or rotten food offerings on an ancestral altar.

Auspices

In the course of normal events "old debts" of the past come due. Each line describes different situations that are curable or incurable.

Good for paying debts, repentance, and receiving medical treatment.
Bad for taking risks, marriage, complaining, traveling, and visiting distant family.
Comment

In the Zhou world, children were ultimately responsible for the conduct (errors and debts) of their parents (ancestors). Gu indicates that life is a continuous flow, not just an individual personal experience. Success is not simply a matter of personal control. Unseen environmental forces do affect us.

The ancestral cause described in Gu is an interfering ghost or a genetically inherited illness. For modern people, this hexagram denotes a difficult situation whose cause is unknown. We seem blocked or ill for no reason. Such rational thinking gives the situation a sense of injustice.

In some cases, Gu can be cleared by decisive action or medical treatment. In removing contamination, however, thoroughness is of utmost importance.

In some cases (top line statement), the debt is too heavy and all is lost.

Other Correspondences
Business: Auditing, paying debts, discount sales, and clearing overstock.
Disharmonies: Blood infections, constitutional weakness, depression, and shen disturbance.
Prognosis: Poor. The patient is very difficult to diagnose and treat. Though they may need invasive treatment (even exorcism), a strong treatment may cause fatality or madness.