Hexagram 34
The Power of the Great
大壯Dà Zhuàng
☳ Thunder above, ☰ Heaven below
Thunder rumbles onward high in the sky: when movement joins with primal force, the power of the great arises, strength in full flow that calls for a straight course.
The JudgmentThe power of the great: perseverance brings reward. There is strength in abundance, and with that the real question has been posed: not what you can do, but what is right. Power without right becomes violence; strength that keeps its measure becomes truly great.
The ImageThunder high in heaven above: the image of the power of the great. Thus the noble one treads no paths that do not accord with the order. The greater the strength, the stricter the choice of road: thunder rolls high and free, but it rolls along the courses of heaven.
InterpretationStrength stands at its peak: four strong lines press forward, resistance gives way, everything seems possible. It appears when you stand strong (position, energy, momentum, being right) and are precisely for that reason about to make your first real mistake. For superior force tempts: to push through where listening was called for, to take whatever can be taken, to paths too short to be sound. The test of this time is not whether you can win, but whether you want to win in a way you would also defend if the roles were reversed. Strength that lets itself be bounded by what is right endures; strength that takes everything it can organizes its own fall.
Place in the sequenceThis sign follows 33, Retreat, because nothing can keep yielding forever. The movement turns, and what withdrew grows back to full strength. It forms a pair with 33 · Retreat.
Nuclear hexagram
The nuclear hexagram of The Power of the Great is 43 · Break-through: Break-through: the last evil yields not to weapons but to openness; name it truthfully and see the ending through. It is formed from the inner lines and shows the hidden core of the situation.
The six lines
These texts belong to changing lines in a reading, from the bottom up.
Nine at the beginning
Power in the toes:
pressing on brings misfortune; that much is certain. Strength in the lowest place wants to storm ahead: the toes tense while position and overview are lacking. Feeling energy is not a mandate; forcing things from the bottom breaks the advance before it has begun. Build first: position, knowledge, allies. The strength you hold back now is your foundation in a year; the strength you waste now is your excuse in a month.
Nine in the second place
Perseverance brings good fortune.
The resistance breaks, the gate opens, and at exactly that moment overconfidence looms: winning quickly becomes a habit. Stay steadfast and keep working calmly as if the resistance were still there; the most dangerous mile is the one just past the breakthrough. Hold on to your discipline in the opening and you turn it into gains; start celebrating and accelerating at once and you still run aground. The good fortune lies in the perseverance, not in the speed.
Nine in the third place
The small-minded works with power, the noble one does not work this way.
To press on is dangerous: a goat butts against a hedge and entangles its horns. Displaying strength is the mark of those unsure of it: the goat has to butt, the strong do not. Parading power (threatening, overruling, making people feel who is boss) ends like the goat: entangled in its own display. The noble one uses his strength as a reserve, not as a calling card. Ask yourself what you are trying to prove, and to whom.
Nine in the fourth placeruling line
Perseverance brings good fortune, remorse vanishes.
The hedge opens, there is no more entanglement; the power rests on the axle of a great wagon. This is strength at its best: quiet and steady, until the obstacle opens of its own accord. Not ramming force but carrying force: the axle of the wagon makes no sound and bears the whole load. The most effective people rarely make the most noise; their work does the talking. Keep pushing in that way: soundless and without ceasing.
Six in the fifth place
He lets go of the goat with ease:
no remorse. The stubbornness can go: the resistance has vanished, so the butting no longer serves a purpose. Those who can lay down their fighting stance once the battle is over know no remorse; those who carry it into peacetime make new enemies out of habit. Check which weapons you still carry from times gone by: the sharp tone, the distrust, the defensive reflex. Lose them with ease; that is gain.
Six at the top
A goat butts against a hedge:
it cannot go back, it cannot go forward, nothing is favorable. If one notices the difficulty, that brings good fortune. The terminus of force pushed too far: stuck fast, horns in the wickerwork. Battering forward pulls it tighter, retreating seems impossible, and yet there is a way out: honestly acknowledging the impasse. Stop butting and grow still, and you feel the hedge give way; you get out of a snare by relaxing, not by pulling harder. Recognizing the difficulty is itself the breakthrough here.