Your current situation can be depicted as "Work on What Has Been Spoiled (Decay)" transforming into "Pushing Upward".
In front of you lies "Mountain" which transforms into "Wind". That means that stillness and obstruction are being transformed into penetration and following. Behind you lies "Wind" which transforms into "Earth". That means that penetration and following are being transformed into docility and receptivity.
The Situation
18. Ku - Work on What Has Been Spoiled (Decay) Above (in front): Kên - Keeping Still (Mountain) Below (behind): Sun - The Gentle (Wind)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The Chinese character ku represents a bowl in whose contents worms are breeding. This means decay. It is come about because the gentle indifference in the lower trigram has come together with the rigid inertia of the upper, and the result is stagnation. Since this implies guilt, the conditions embody a demand for removal of the cause. Hence the meaning of the hexagram is not simply "what has been spoiled" but "work on what has been spoiled. "
The Judgement for the Current Situation
Work 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.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
What has been spoiled through man's fault can be made good again through man's work. It is not immutable fate, as in the time of STANDSTILL, that has caused the state of corruption, but rather the abuse of human freedom. Work toward improving conditions promises well, because it accords the possibilities of the time. We must not recoil from work and danger–symbolized by crossing of the great water–but must take hold energetically. Success depends, however, on proper deliberation. This is expressed by the lines, "Before the starting point, three days. After the starting point, three days. " We must first know the cause of corruption before we can do away with them; hence it is necessary to be cautious during the time before the start. Then we must see to it that the new way is safely entered upon, so that a relapse may be avoided; therefore we must pay attention to the time after the start. Decisiveness and energy must take the place of the inertia and indifference that have led to decay, in order that the ending may be followed by a new beginning.
The Image for the Current Situation
The wind blows low on the mountain: The image of Decay. Thus the superior man stirs up the people And strengthens their spirit.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When the wind blows low on the mountain, it is thrown back and spoils the vegetation. This contains a challenge to improvement. It is the same with debasing attitudes and fashions; they corrupt human society. To do away with this corruption, the superior man must regenerate society. His methods likewise must be derived from the two trigrams, but in such a way that their effects unfold in orderly sequence. The superior man must first remove stagnation by stirring up public opinion, as the wind stirs everything, and must then strengthen and tranquillize the character of the people, as the mountain gives tranquillity and nourishment to all that grows in its vicinity.
Interpretation of the Changing Line(s)
Line 6: He does not serve kings and princes, Sets himself higher goals.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Not every man has an obligation to mingle in the affairs of the world. There are some who are developed to such a degree that they are justified in letting the world go its own way and refusing to enter public life with a view to reforming it. But this does not imply a right to remain idle or to sit back and merely criticize. Such withdrawal is justified only when we strive to realize in ourselves the higher aims of mankind. For although the sage remains distant from the turmoil of daily life, he creates incomparable human values for the future.
The Future
46. Shêng - Pushing Upward Above (in front): Sun - The Gentle (Wind) Below (behind): K'un - The Receptive (Earth)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and the upper, K'un, means the earth. Linked with this is the idea that wood in the earth grows upward. In contrast to the meaning of Chin, PROGRESS (35), this pushing upward is associated with effort, just as a plant needs energy for pushing upward through the earth. That is why this hexagram, although it is connected with success, is associated with effort of the will. In PROGRESS the emphasis is on expansion; PUSHING UPWARD indicates rather a vertical ascent–direct rise from obscurity and lowliness to power and influence.
The Judgement for the Future
Pushing upward has supreme success. One must see the great man. Fear not. Departure toward the south Brings good fortune.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The pushing upward of the good elements encounters no obstruction and is therefore accompanied by great success. The pushing upward is made possible not by violence but by modesty and adaptability. Since the individual is borne along by the propitiousness of the time, he advances. He must go to see authoritative people. He need not be afraid to do this, because success is assured. But he must set to work, for activity (this is the meaning of "the south") brings good fortune.
The Image for the Future
Within the earth, wood grows: The image of Pushing Upward. Thus the superior man of devoted character Heaps up small things In order to achieve something high and great.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around them, wood in the earth grows upward without haste and without rest. Thus too the superior man is devoted in character and never pauses in his progress.