Da Zhuang 雷天大壯
A time of surging strength
You are strong and feel like pushing ahead. Too much will snap, so manage your speed.
What does I Ching hexagram 34 (Great Power) mean?
Thunder over heaven: great strength. Too much force turns into harm, so restraint is needed.
- Great Power in love
- You are bold, but leading with force can hurt.
- Great Power at work and with money
- Push ahead with great strength, but keep courtesy and restraint.
- Advice
- The stronger you are, the more you should keep to principle.
The judgment and the image
Judgment · Great Power
No blame“It is fitting to persevere.”
The Image: Thunder in the sky: great power. The noble person does not tread where propriety does not allow.
原文 · 利貞。 / 雷在天上，大壯；君子以非禮弗履。
The six lines of hexagram 34
Lines are read from the bottom up. When you cast a reading and a line is changing, its statement becomes the key message.
Line 1 · 初九
Misfortune“Power in the toes; going forward brings misfortune, though there is sincerity.”
You’re strong but too rash. Rushing ahead ends badly.
原文 · 壯于趾，征凶，有孚。
Line 2 · 九二
Auspicious“Perseverance brings good fortune.”
Stay centered and steady and all is well.
原文 · 貞吉。
Line 3 · 九三
Caution“The small person uses power; the noble person uses restraint. Perseverance is dangerous. A ram butts the fence and gets its horns stuck.”
Don’t use strength just because you have it. Force gets you stuck.
原文 · 小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。
Line 4 · 九四
Auspicious“Perseverance brings good fortune and regret vanishes. The fence opens and the horns are not trapped; power in the axle of a great cart.”
Your strength finds an opening. Move forward without a fight.
原文 · 貞吉悔亡，藩決不羸，壯于大轝之腹。
Line 5 · 六五
Caution“Losing the sheep easily; no regret.”
Let go of the stubbornness and the hardness. It’s no loss.
原文 · 喪羊于易，无悔。
Line 6 · 上六
No blame“A ram butts the fence; it can neither retreat nor advance; nothing is favorable. Through hardship, good fortune.”
You’re stuck in your own stubbornness. Facing the difficulty slowly gets you out.
原文 · 羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉。
Related hexagrams
- Opposite hexagram (every line flipped): 20. Guan (Contemplation)
- Reversed hexagram (turned upside down): 33. Dun (Retreat)
The classical text is in the public domain; the English translations and readings are our own, for reflection and entertainment.