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Hexagram 28: Great Exceeding

䷛ 大過 (Dà Guò) · Heavy burden. The beam bends; act decisively but wisely.

pressure, overload, decisive action, courage

Lower trigram: Wind ☴ · Upper trigram: Lake ☱

The judgment

Too much weight rests on too little support, and the main roof beam is bending. This cannot hold for long, so act: find a way out or a way to share the load. Move with gentle firmness rather than panic, and things can still go well.

The image

The lake rises over the treetops, an unusual flood. In such a time, stand alone without fear if you must, and step back from the world without losing heart.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your casting, counting from the bottom.

• Line 1 (bottom): You lay down soft white mats before setting the heavy load on the ground. Great care at the start is not too much now; no blame.
• Line 2: An old tree sends up fresh shoots from its root. An unexpected partnership renews you, and everything goes well.
• Line 3: The beam bends further and finally cracks. Pushing on alone and refusing help leads to misfortune.
• Line 4: The beam is braced and holds. Good fortune, as long as you use the support honestly and not for your own gain.
• Line 5: An old tree puts out flowers, but its roots are not renewed. A showy late bloom without depth: nothing wrong, and nothing to praise either.
• Line 6 (top): You wade in to finish what must be done and find yourself in over your head. Things go badly and the cost is high, yet acting for what you believe in is no fault.

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