Preponderance of the Great

Daguo 大過

You are carrying more than your present support can bear, and it threatens to bend.

Lower trigramWind (Xun 巽)

Upper trigramLake (Dui 兌)

Themeoverload beyond the limit of endurance

A question to reflect onWhich of your responsibilities is now heavier than what holds it up?

AdviceBefore you add more weight, strengthen the beam, or set part of the burden down.

The sayings of the six lines

Before you lay a great weight on a weak foundation, shore it up — caution at the start spares you a later bending.
Even what looked withered may put forth again if you lean on an unexpected connection — do not underrate a quiet support.
To keep pressing on an overloaded beam is risky — here added force does not help, but breaks.
If you strengthen the beam at the right moment, it will hold the burden — only do not brace it merely for your own comfort.
To bloom at the end of your strength is pretty to look at, but does not last — the gilding will not replace the missing root.
Sometimes you must set out on a crossing that is beyond you — when it is for a right cause, you can bear the risk, even if it costs you much.

The reading in practice

When to read Preponderance of the Great

When this image comes up

Hexagram 28, Preponderance of the Great, is best read at a moment when something like this is in play: you are carrying more than your present support can bear, and it threatens to bend. The main motif is not a label for the situation, but the direction in which your attention is meant to move.

What the situation asks for

The lower trigram Wind (Xun 巽) shows the inner movement, while the upper trigram Lake (Dui 兌) shows the shape that turns outward. Before you add more weight, strengthen the beam, or set part of the burden down.

Work

At work, Preponderance of the Great does not ask only about performance. It leads you to let the theme "overload beyond the limit of endurance" show in your next step, your pace or your responsibility.

Relationships

In relationships this image is not a verdict on the other person. It rather opens the question of what should be said, borne or left to ripen: Which of your responsibilities is now heavier than what holds it up?

Shadow / risk

The risk is to overdo the image's main motif: overload beyond the limit of endurance. The top line recalls the extreme form of the situation: Sometimes you must set out on a crossing that is beyond you — when it is for a right cause, you can bear the risk, even if it costs you much.

A question for your journal

Which of your responsibilities is now heavier than what holds it up? Write down one small step and come back to it in a few days.