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Hexagram 62: Small Exceeding

䷽ 小過 (Xiǎo Guò) · Small excess. Attend to details and stay modest.

caution, humility, detail, restraint

Lower trigram: Mountain ☶ · Upper trigram: Thunder ☳

The judgment

This is a time for small things, not great ones. Like a bird that should stay low rather than climb into the storm, keep your aims modest and attend carefully to details. Excess in small, humble ways, such as a little more care or a little more courtesy, is fine. Overreaching is not.

The image

Mountain below and Thunder above: thunder on the mountain sounds near, not far. Lean toward a little extra respect in what you do, sincere grief in loss, and thrift in what you spend.

The six lines

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

• Line 1 (bottom): The bird tries to fly before it is ready and comes to grief. Stay in the nest a while longer.
• Line 2: You don't reach the person you hoped for, but you meet someone close to them. Accepting the more modest connection is wise.
• Line 3: You feel too confident to be careful, but someone may come from behind. Guard against what you are overlooking.
• Line 4: Meet things as they come rather than pushing ahead. Going forward now is risky, so hold your position and stay alert.
• Line 5: Dense clouds, but no rain yet. You can't do it alone; seek out capable people who are keeping a low profile.
• Line 6 (top): You overshoot the mark, like a bird flying far past where it should land. Going too far brings trouble of its own making.

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