Your current situation can be depicted as "Opposition" transforming into "Work on What Has Been Spoiled (Decay)".
In front of you lies "Fire" which transforms into "Mountain". That means that brightness and warmth are being transformed into stillness and obstruction. Behind you lies "Lake" which transforms into "Wind". That means that joy, pleasure, and attraction are being transformed into penetration and following.
The Situation
38. K'uei - Opposition Above (in front): Li - The Clinging (Fire) Below (behind): Tui - The Joyous (Lake)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li above, i. e. , flame, which burns upward, and Tui below, i. e. , the lake, which seeps downward. These two movements are in direct contrast. Furthermore, Li is the second daughter and Tui the youngest daughter, and although they live in the same house they belong to different men; hence their wills are not the same but are divergently directed.
The Judgement for the Current Situation
Opposition. In small matters, good fortune.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When people live in opposition and estrangement they cannot carry out a great undertaking in common; their points of view diverge too widely. In such circumstances one should above all not proceed brusquely, for that would only increase the existing opposition; instead, one should limit oneself to producing gradual effects in small matters. Here success can still be expected, because the situation is such that the opposition does not preclude all agreement. In general, opposition appears as an obstruction, but when it represents polarity within a comprehensive whole, it has also its useful and important functions. The oppositions of heaven and earth, spirit and nature, man and woman, when reconciled, bring about the creation and reproduction of life. In the world of visible things, the principle of opposites makes possible the differentiation by categories through which order is brought into the world.
The Image for the Current Situation
Above fire; below, the lake: The image of Opposition. Thus amid all fellowship The superior man retains his individuality.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The two elements, fire and water, never mingle but even when in contact retain their own natures. So the cultured man is never led into baseness or vulgarity through intercourse or community of interests with persons of another sort; regardless of all commingling, he will always preserve his individuality.
Interpretation of the Changing Line(s)
Line 1: Remorse disappears. If you lose your horse, do not run after it; It will come back of its own accord. When you see evil people, Guard yourself against mistakes.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Even in times when oppositions prevail, mistakes can be avoided, so that remorse disappears. When opposition begins to manifest itself, a man must not try to bring about unity by force, for by so doing he would only achieve the contrary, just as a horse goes farther and farther away if one runs after it. If it is one's own horse, one can safely let it go; it will come back of its own accord. So too when someone who belongs with us is momentarily estranged because of a misunderstanding, he will return of his own accord if we leave matters to him. One the other hand, it is well to be cautious when evil men who do not belong with us force themselves upon us, again as the result of a misunderstanding. Here the important thing is to avoid mistakes. We must not try to shake off these evil men by force; this would give rise to real hostility. We must simply endure them. They will eventually withdraw of their own accord.
Line 3: One sees the wagon dragged back, The oxen halted, A man's hair and nose cut off. Not a good beginning, but a good end.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Often it seems to a man as though everything were conspiring against him. He sees himself checked and hindered in his progress, insulted and dishonored. However, he must not let himself be misled; despite this opposition, he must cleave to the man with whom he knows he belongs. Thus, notwithstanding the bad beginning, the matter will end well.
Line 4: Isolated through opposition, One meets a like-minded man With whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
If a man finds himself in a company of people from whom he is separated by an inner opposition, he becomes isolated. But if in such a situation a man meets someone who fundamentally, by the very law of his being, is kin to him, and whom he can trust completely, he overcomes all the dangers of isolation. His will achieves its aim, and he becomes free of faults.
The Future
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 Future
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 Future
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.
38. K'uei - Opposition
18. Ku - Work on What Has Been Spoiled (Decay)