Corruption. The Source of Success.
Advantageous to step into the Great Stream. Watch carefully.
Before seed burst three days, after seed burst three days.
Eliminate corruption at the source. Clear the channels. Rouse and inspire the group. Don’t just let things go. Beware of laziness, attachment to the past, a false position of power. Use energy, insight, commitment and hard work.
The Image
The old character shows insects or worms in rotting meat or grain held in a sacrificial vessel.
Circle of Meanings
Perversion, decay, plague, pestilence; rotten, poisonous, defiled; corruption in inner parental images, negative effects of parents on children; sexual infatuation, rage, pain, hallucination, mania; renew, renovate; remove decay to support new growth. Heart Theme: 54, a radical change of state brought by forces beyond your control.
Spirit Helpers
Mountain contains Wind. Youngest Son and Eldest Daughter, the Gatekeeper and the Matchmaker, create an outer limit that turns the focus on inner corruption. You are confronting the evil done by parents that is manifested in their children. Clear out the source of this corruption to enable new growth. This is the time to embark on a significant new enterprise. Prepare the moment when the new appears then carefully watch over its first growth. This is a time of corruption, decay and hidden poisons. Search out the hurt and change it. Step into the stream of life with a purpose. This can produce a new spring and regulate the world once more. You will soon have more than enough to keep you busy. The spirit is moving in this situation.
Voice of the Mothers
Clear away the negative emotions that surround the experience of your inner mother and father. Prepare the moment and watch over the new growth. Inner self cultivation now reveals the patterns that mark real ends and beginnings. Let yourself be led to a radical change (54). Do not focus on escaping oppression (47).
One of the traditional images of Corruption is a vase containing the five poisonous insects (snake, scorpion, centipede, gecko and toad) that were put into a jar and left until one had killed and eaten the others. This became the Gu, a spirit venom capable of not only crazing and killing a victim but also securing his possessions and wealth for the perpetrator of the magic. Gu suggests hallucination, loss of reality, sexual debauch, the insects that appear in rotting or fermenting grain, miasma, sorcery and, most of all, the curse of the Ancestors, the false dreams and delusions they send when they are neglected or offended. Gu, corruption means poisonous acts done by or to fathers and mothers that become manifest in the children. It extends to straightening, handling or managing these affairs, working with the inner family or parental images we all carry with us. This is a crucial time, a stem-day when a new seed can sprout, and it must be carefully watched over. It is the moment when we pass into action, cross the river, to deal with the corruption of the past. This figure is a key part of the Secret Sickness pathways that link personal and cultural disorders, a critical site of intense shamanic activity.
Fall (18): Harvest the crop by restoring ideals. Seek the lessons in your experiences. Trust your instincts.
Winter (46): Find the seed of the new by relying on your inner strength. Express yourself freely. Put things in order. Find the people you truly belong with. Cooperate with the ongoing process.
Spring (11): Rouse new growth by disentangling yourself from past influences. Don’t force things. Find the people you really belong with.
Summer (26): Rouse new growth by changing your basic approach. Check your integrity and get back on track. Trust your instincts.
Voice of the Fathers
This is a Realizing Figure, part of the Sacred Sickness Pathways that connect personal disorders with cultural change. It is a site of intense mediating activity that links the primal powers to personal life and is the Mission of the stage of the Symbolic Life when we confront the problems of individual identity, sexuality and personal destiny or mission.
The Situation: A time to deal with the negative effects of old decisions and corrupt practices in personal and family life.
Caring for Others: Necessary change starts with personal work. Prepare yourself for the challenge by examining how you have contributed to the overall stagnation. Make a firm decision to eliminate your own negativity. Other people will be inspired by your example. Watch over and nurture these changes carefully. Make kindness to others the center or your efforts.
Setting Intentions: Review all plans thoroughly. Major changes are in order. Establish a new internal routine and pace that raises energy and awareness levels. Work to sustain internal momentum. There is immense creative potential hidden in the situation.
Communication and Interaction: Needs significant improvement on all levels. Clear the communication channels. Eliminate built up bad feeling that is blocking the flow of essential information and inspiration. Sharpen your self-image.
Change from the Inside Out: Do not be over ambitious. Clarify goals and work hard. Improve the way you present things and your method of persuasion. Clarify the underlying guidelines and purpose. Do not invest resources or seek support yet, for things could become volatile. You need information from people who know more than you do about the situation.
- Immediate Future: expect nasty encounters.
- Personal Development: do not project your own past pain on others.
- Working within the Family: do not get pulled into other people’s traumas.
- Expanding the Circle: clarify objectives. Work hard and be kind.
- Partnership: explore your past pain and take responsibility for it.
Pairing: Bringing Change to Life
Each hexagram is part of a Pair that that activates hidden paths of transformative energy through the interaction of the trigrams or Spirit Helpers, connecting phases of Inspiration and Realization. You are in the Realizing phase of this Pair.
The transformative process of the Pair 17:18 Following and Corruption develops the freedom to follow new ways and the courage to deal with inner corruption.
Outer to Inner: The process transforms the Mediator trigram in the outer world of 17 into the Matchmaker trigram in the inner world of 18. This turns outer expression of inspiring ideas into inner self-cultivation.
Inner to Outer: This interiorisation transforms the Groundbreaker trigram in the inner world trigram of 17 into the Gatekeeper trigram in the outer world of 18. This turns inner enlightenment into awareness of the patterns that mark real ends and beginnings.
Transforming Lines
Mothering Change presents Transforming Lines as Steps of Change that show you where and how to focus your energy. Click on the links to connect with the Relating Figure generated by each line.
Inner World
Step 1 Beginnings: This return of the spirit attracts a new fate.
Managing and straightening the Father’s Corruption.
The offspring correct the faults of their predecessors.
Adversity, the hungry souls and angry ghosts.
Wise Words! Completing this opens the Way.
You must deal with the corruption of authority. Do not be impulsive. Correct yourself first. Disentangle from the old ways. If you let yourself be led you can realize the hidden potential. Co-operate with the ongoing process of change. (26 Great Accumulates)
Step 2 Inner Center: This inner re-organization leads to harmony with others.
Managing the Mother’s Corruption. This is not an enabling Trial.
You must deal with the corruption of nourishment and care. You cannot do this by imposing your ideas. Put yourself into the center of this situation and find the flow. Do the inner work. Do not run after impossible desires. You are called to serve now. This can lead to real excellence. These goings and comings will release the energy now bound up in the past. Co-operate with the ongoing process of change. (52 Bound/Gatekeeper)
Step 3 Threshold: This inner re-balancing lets you make your way in life.
Managing and straightening the Father’s Corruption.
Small has cause for sorrow. Without the Great, you make a mistake.
You must deal with the corruption of authority. There will be regrets that you co-operated with it in the past. Have a real purpose. Connect with the flow of events and your understanding will be brightened. Those who approach you are not outlaws. Seek an alliance. Be open and provide what is needed. (4 Enveloping)
Outer World
Step 4 Arrival: This inner preparation leads to what is greater.
Abundant Corrupting. You enrich the Father who is now dissolving.
Go on like this and you will see Distress.
You are colluding with the corruption of authority. Do not simply adapt. Rely on your real experience and you acquire what you desire. Let the images of change circle within you. When the time is right you can act with confidence. If you co-operate with corrupt authorities now, you will be swept away with them when the great change comes. Be resolute. You are connected with a creative force. (50 The Vessel)
Step 5 Outer Center: This inner re-grouping lets your real purpose shine.
Managing and straightening the Father’s Corruption.
Use praise to accomplish the task.
You must deal with the corruption of authority. Disarm your opponents with praise. Let go of your self importance and adapt to what confronts you. Demonstrate your real worth. Do not initiate things, bring them to completion. You will be rewarded. Step outside the norms and re-imagine the situation. Co-operate with the ongoing process of change. (57 Subtle Penetration/Matchmaker)
Step 6 Culmination: This inner stripping leads to a breakthrough.
Do not involve yourself in the Corruption of the Kings and the Lords.
Honoring what is highest is your affair.
These are the people who work on in the darkness to prepare the new dawn. Leave your old thoughts behind and mingle with the new influence. Have no fear. Do not pause in your efforts to find the true meaning of these changes. These goings and comings will release the energy now bound up in the past. If you let yourself be led you can realize the hidden potential. Co-operate with the ongoing process of change. (46 Ascending)