Welcome to this I Ching reading for January 2026.
This month the I Ching speaks through hexagram number 18,
Often translated as destruction.
Now this is not the destruction of endings for their own sake,
But the sacred work of repair,
Of clearing decay,
Of tending to what has been neglected,
Sometimes inherited,
Or even quiet harm from within.
This message appears when something has gone off course.
This can be habits,
Patterns or ways of being that have become stale or misaligned.
This can show up in one's life as harmful behaviors,
Attachments that no longer nourish or avoidance of what we know deep down needs our attention.
So this is not a time to look towards blame,
But instead it's calling for a response,
To be aware,
To take responsibility,
And to courageously meet what has been left unattended.
True change,
The kind that lasts,
Requires us to first clean the wound before it can heal.
And so this reading of hexagram 18 comes at a threshold moment.
This is a time of great change and there is a sense of newness that is approaching.
But before the outer shifts arrive,
There is some inner work to be done.
So January is not asking us to rush ahead,
It's asking for pausing and for you to look back with honesty and to clear what might otherwise follow you into the future.
Because what is unresolved will not stay behind on its own,
It needs to be consciously released or repaired or transformed.
As you receive this information,
Allow your body and your mind to soften and let the breath guide this softening gently in,
Gently out,
Feeling yourself grounded by the earth beneath you and allowing your stillness to rest within you,
Just like a still lake.
And in this position of calm,
Allow your mind to wander now to your heritage,
Because this hexagram's message often points to just that.
You may reach back through time,
Through your family lines,
Ancestral stories or even the imprints of authority figures who shaped your early understanding of safety or worth or belonging.
In other words,
Ancestors may be of blood,
But they also may be of influence,
Cultural,
Beliefs,
Institutions.
So ask with kindness and care,
What patterns did I inherit?
Breathe the awareness in and then exhale it out.
As you ask yourself now,
What wounds were passed down,
Perhaps unnamed?
Breathe in the awareness,
Exhale and let that go.
And what coping strategies that once protected life,
Now restrict it?
Breathe in and let that go.
So these teachings are not asking us at all to judge the past.
It's asking for a clarity of vision.
What has been carried forward unconsciously can now be met with awareness and transformed.
And this is confirmed through the symbology of the yin-yang lines in this hexagram.
Here we see wind is below mountain,
Often described as wind within the mountain.
So the mountain represents what is solid and established.
The wind represents subtle influence,
Movement.
This tells us that change does not need come through force.
It comes through gentle,
Persistent awareness.
Like wind that enters the cracks in stone,
Truth moves quietly into places that may be long untouched.
And this is the kind of work that happens beneath the surface.
It's private,
It's subtle and it's oh so effective.
In other words,
Nothing needs to be torn down violently.
Something does need to be aired out.
And this airing might also be relating to the cleaning of a wound or tending to an old injury.
Before the healing can occur,
The wound must be cleaned.
It may sting slightly and it may require looking at what you would rather avoid.
Just know this is not punishment,
It is care.
So what habits,
Relationships,
Even inner narratives have been quietly corroding your vitality,
Your essence,
Your spark?
What have you adapted in ways that once made sense but actually are now making you small or feel disconnected?
January offers the courage to name these things without being entangled in them.
It's a time to reclaim inner authority.
As you journey through this month,
Ask of yourself of the choices that you're making if they are aligned with your truth or with an old voice.
And through this awareness,
So the grip will loosen.
And this allows the transformation of moving what was once controlling to becoming wisdom.
The nuclear inner trigrams of this hexagram are thunder and lake.
So with thunder,
There is much movement and circulation.
And with lake,
This brings joy and openness.
And both of these are very important to this work at this time of repair.
And it's indicating that this is not forever.
Once the stream has been crossed,
The task has been attended to,
Or the wound has been cleaned,
There is lightness,
There is success,
There is joy.
And hold in your heart the message that destruction and renewal are part of the same sacred movement.
The I Ching says,
You must apply yourself with strength and energy to finding the origins of the present decay and disorder in order to bring it to an end and restore the situation to well-being.
January 2026 is a threshold.
Move through it consciously and trust.
And if you would like further guidance on this hexagram 18,
You will find a further reading from this message of the I Ching,
Which is part of my I Ching playlist.
You can find this at the bottom of my profile page.
Scroll through the tracks that are part of the I Ching playlist until you find Contemplating Disruption,
Tao Wisdom,
I Ching 18.
May your days be blessed and your journey be safe.
