Da Guo — Excess of the Great
Also known as: Preponderance of the Great
The Judgement
大过卦：大过，栋桡，利有攸往，亨。
Excess of the Great: the roof beam bends. It is favourable to set out and act; there is success that goes through.
AI commentaryDa Guo shows the lake drowning the trees, yang strength grown beyond its measure: excess, extraordinary times, a beam close to breaking. Four yang lines crowd the centre between weak yin lines at bottom and top, like a beam strong in the middle but frail at the ends. The beam bends, yet an extraordinary time calls for extraordinary action, so setting out brings success that goes through. The load exceeds what ordinary arrangements can bear. Extraordinary firmness must meet an extraordinary crisis, yet stay able to yield, never overbearing or self-willed; standing alone without fear and withdrawing from the world without gloom carry one through.
AI plain readingThis hexagram is about excess and extraordinary times. A lake swells until it drowns the trees (Wind, the lower trigram, also stands for wood): strength has outgrown its frame. Four yang lines crowd between two yin lines, like a roof beam sturdy at the centre but weak at the ends. The beam bends near breaking, yet extraordinary times call for extraordinary action, so acting is favourable and brings success that goes through. If you draw it, affairs are weightier and more precarious than usual; ordinary methods will not suffice. Meet them with extraordinary resolve, yet stay flexible and accept help instead of forcing your way. Standing alone without fear, and withdrawing from the world without gloom when you must, is what carries you through.
The Great Image
泽灭木，大过；君子以独立不惧，遁世无闷。
The lake floods over and drowns the trees: this is Excess of the Great. The noble person, accordingly, stands alone without fear and can withdraw from the world without gloom.
The Six Lines
1st Line (six)
初六：藉用白茅，无咎。
Lay the offering on a mat of white cogon grass. No blame.
AI commentarySetting the sacrificial offering on clean white cogon grass shows care taken to the utmost, so there is no blame. At the start of a time of excess, a yielding, careful manner is the foundation; scrupulous attention keeps one free of fault.
AI plain readingPicture an offering placed on a layer of clean white grass, so that nothing touches the bare ground. If you draw this line, a period of strain is just beginning. Stay gentle and meticulous, treat every step with respect, and do nothing carelessly. The tradition reads this careful approach as bringing no blame.
- Timing
- The strain is only beginning; move gently, attend to small details and act with reverence, and the tradition finds no blame.
- Money
- Guard what you hold, check every figure twice and let savings grow slowly; prudence of this kind incurs no blame.
- Career
- Handle each task as if standing at a cliff edge: double-check handovers and approvals, and your work stays beyond reproach.
- Relationships
- Respectful care and honest, unhurried words are what your bond needs now; offered sincerely, they bring no blame.
- Home & Household
- A calm, well-kept household, with small repairs and routines seen to carefully, draws no blame in this period.
- Health
- Treat your body as something fragile and precious: rest well, avoid sudden strain, and that caution is blameless.
- Marriage
- Before any engagement or marital decision, slow down and speak with full sincerity; such careful handling leaves the commitment blameless.
- Exams & Study
- No blame attaches to steady, cautious study: prepare thoroughly and review each exam answer before moving on to avoid costly slips.
- Travel
- If routes, documents and safety measures are planned ahead and you keep a measured pace, the journey carries no blame.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- Ground every claim in documented facts and act with restraint, as if on thin ice; such scrupulous care invites no reproach.
- Finding a Person
- Search methodically, following each lead respectfully and in order; patient inquiry rather than hasty guesswork brings no blame.
- The Decision Point
- At the start of a strained period, take the gentlest, most careful course, like laying clean white cogon grass first, and no blame follows.
2nd Line (nine)
九二：枯杨生稊，老夫得其女妻，无不利。
Fresh shoots spring from a withered poplar; an old man wins a young bride. Nothing is unfavourable.
AI commentaryA withered poplar sprouting and an old man gaining a young wife show decline turning to renewal, firmness helped by softness, so nothing is unfavourable. Strength grown excessive that stoops to the gentle finds a second spring, and affairs turn around.
AI plain readingImagine a dried-out tree suddenly budding, or an older man finding a young partner: what seemed spent comes back to life. If you draw this line, your strength runs to excess and needs a softer partner or approach to balance it. Accept gentle help, and the tradition reads the outlook as favourable on every side.
- Timing
- Fortune that seemed exhausted stirs again. Pair your drive with a softer touch and modest allies, and nothing turns against you.
- Money
- Dried-up income streams revive in the tradition's reading when bold moves are balanced by prudent, steady steps: nothing is unfavourable.
- Career
- Leaning on junior colleagues or a gentler partner lets a project you thought finished put out fresh shoots and flourish.
- Relationships
- Tenderness, not pressure, is the key: an affection you thought had faded rekindles warmly, and the reading finds nothing unfavourable.
- Home & Household
- Family fortunes revive when firm leadership is softened by patience and give-and-take; the household comes back to life.
- Health
- Like buds on old wood, vitality can return when firm discipline is paired with gentle nourishment and rest, the tradition holds.
- Marriage
- Is a union cooled or interrupted? Gentleness and mutual adjustment favour reconciliation, and nothing in the reading stands against it.
- Exams & Study
- Mix determined effort with calm, steady review; results that had stalled pick up, and a turning point in exams arrives.
- Travel
- A shelved trip can revive: with flexible plans and courtesy towards hosts and companions, the road holds nothing unfavourable.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- Deadlock can give way to settlement here: answer hardness with a conciliatory approach, and the reading favours a turnaround.
- Finding a Person
- The tradition reads the person as findable: search gently through several channels at once, and cold leads warm up again.
- The Decision Point
- When your strength runs to excess, reach down to the gentle and blend firm with yielding; then the withered poplar buds and nothing is unfavourable.
3rd Line (nine)
九三：栋桡，凶。
The roof beam bends. Inauspicious.
AI commentaryToo firm in a firm position, the line shoulders the burden alone and refuses support, like a beam bowing at its centre: inauspicious. Relying on strength amid excess and rejecting correction ends in failure: the great warning against excessive firmness.
AI plain readingThink of a roof beam bowing under a load it was never meant to carry alone. If you draw this line, the danger lies in doing everything your own way and refusing help or advice. The tradition reads this as inauspicious. Accept support, listen to counsel, and temper firmness with flexibility before something breaks.
- Timing
- Shouldering everything alone now is how beams snap. Lean on support and soften your stance, or the period turns inauspicious.
- Money
- Going it alone with money against advice is inauspicious, and the reading points to loss; weigh risks with trusted advisers first.
- Career
- Share the project's load and accept correction; a lead who brushes off colleagues' input courts failure, which the reading calls inauspicious.
- Relationships
- In a quarrel, listen and give ground first. Pressing your own way hurts the bond, and the tradition counts it inauspicious.
- Home & Household
- When one person rules the household alone, the outlook is inauspicious and the home grows restless; hear everyone out and seek consensus.
- Health
- Rest and a doctor's advice beat toughness: the tradition reads running on willpower past warning signs as inauspicious and depleting.
- Marriage
- Decisions on money, home or children belong to both spouses. One forced through alone is inauspicious, a step towards breakdown.
- Exams & Study
- Talent alone will not carry this exam: waving off teachers is inauspicious and ends in failure, so seek and heed guidance.
- Travel
- Heed local advice, keep companions close and move steadily; a headstrong solo trip against warnings is inauspicious and invites danger.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- In legal conflict, go with counsel rather than against it: a hard line fought single-handed is inauspicious, while settlement stays open.
- Finding a Person
- A lone searcher clinging to one theory faces an inauspicious, hard search; enlist others, pool information and widen the approach.
- The Decision Point
- Tempted to bear everything alone and wave off help? That is the bending beam, and it is inauspicious; accept support and temper firmness with flexibility.
4th Line (nine)
九四：栋隆，吉；有它吝。
The roof beam arches upward: auspicious. If there is another tie, a mean outcome.
AI commentaryThe arching beam bears its load: auspicious. Should it keep another tie, a private pull towards the bottom yin line, a mean outcome follows. Heavy duty borne firm yet yielding is auspicious, but single-minded impartiality matters: side ties diminish the good fortune.
AI plain readingPicture a roof beam that arches upward and holds the weight securely. If you draw this line, you are equal to a heavy responsibility, and the tradition reads that as auspicious. The caution concerns divided loyalties: if a private attachment or side interest pulls at you, the good fortune shrinks. Stay focused and impartial.
- Timing
- Strength matches the load, so the time is auspicious; let a second agenda divert you and a mean outcome follows.
- Money
- Private favour-trading trims the gain; apart from that, the tradition reads well-balanced finances as able to bear a heavy load: auspicious.
- Career
- Colleagues can rely on you in a key role, an auspicious sign; cronyism or factional favouritism would end in a mean outcome.
- Relationships
- If another attachment tugs at you, the good fortune shrinks; give your partner undivided, balanced support and the bond is auspicious.
- Home & Household
- Carry the household's weight evenly, favouring no relative; partiality would take the shine off an auspicious period at home.
- Health
- In the tradition's reading, your strength meets present demands: auspicious. Keep to one steady regimen; scattered routines dilute the benefit.
- Marriage
- Ready to carry a marriage's weight wholeheartedly? Then commitment is auspicious, though a secret attachment would bring a mean outcome.
- Exams & Study
- Give the heavy syllabus your undivided attention: you are equal to it, which is auspicious. Hours split with distractions cost marks.
- Travel
- Side detours for private errands would sour this journey into a mean outcome; held to its main purpose, it is auspicious.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- Keep the case on principle: the reading treats an even-handed stance as auspicious, while hidden ties to either party weaken it.
- Finding a Person
- Follow the most credible lead to its end instead of chasing side rumours: focus is auspicious, scattered effort a mean outcome.
- The Decision Point
- You can carry this weight, and that is auspicious; decide impartially and single-mindedly, because any side attachment will diminish the good fortune.
5th Line (nine)
九五：枯杨生华，老妇得士夫，无咎无誉。
A dried-up poplar blooms; an old woman weds a young man. No blame, no praise.
AI commentaryA withered poplar blossoming without fruit, like an old woman taking a young husband, yields no real benefit: no blame, no praise. Overly firm in the place of honour, the line offers only outward show, inviting neither harm nor achievement.
AI plain readingImagine an old, dried-out tree that flowers without fruit, or an older woman marrying a young man: a match without real benefit. If you draw this line, things look lively but lack substance. The tradition reads it as no blame and no praise: no harm, and little gained. Seek substance, not appearances.
- Timing
- Much activity, little fruit: hollow effort draws neither blame nor credit, so channel your energy into what has real substance.
- Money
- Check whether gains are real cash or only paper show; the reading sees hollow figures bringing neither blame nor real growth.
- Career
- Impressive titles and visible busyness hide thin results here; without concrete output, the work earns neither blame nor recognition.
- Relationships
- A match of appearances rarely deepens. Be genuine and seek real common ground if attraction is to go beyond the surface.
- Home & Household
- Cosmetic improvements leave the home tolerable but not thriving; practical needs such as repairs and budgets deserve attention first.
- Health
- For health, substance beats ritual: choose care that fits your needs, since, in the tradition's reading, token efforts make recovery harder.
- Marriage
- Can a union built on appearances last? Without sincere, practical foundations the commitment struggles to come together at all.
- Exams & Study
- Looking prepared is not the same as knowing the material; superficial revision makes passing unlikely, so put in real hours.
- Travel
- Without a concrete purpose, expect an unremarkable trip: no harm comes of it, and no particular gain either.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- Polish without solid evidence makes for a weak case; the reading favours building every point on facts and documents.
- Finding a Person
- Vague reports and rumours make the person hard to locate; verify each piece of news directly before acting on it.
- The Decision Point
- Before committing, ask whether this offers real substance or only a fresh appearance; blossoms on a withered tree bring neither blame nor achievement.
6th Line (six)
上六：过涉灭顶，凶，无咎。
One wades too deep and the water closes over the head. Inauspicious, yet no blame.
AI commentaryOne who wades too deep goes under: inauspicious. Yet if self-sacrifice to rescue others led there, no moral blame attaches. Knowingly attempting the impossible for principle at the peak of excess is inauspicious yet beyond reproach: integrity that puts right above life.
AI plain readingPicture someone wading into a river until the water closes over their head. If you draw this line, matters have reached a dangerous extreme, which the tradition calls inauspicious. Yet if you take that risk to help others or stand by a principle, there is no blame in choosing right over safety.
- Timing
- Danger peaks and the time is inauspicious; if you step in at your own cost to rescue others, no blame attaches.
- Money
- The reading sees finances in over their head, an inauspicious sign; money given for an emergency or just cause carries no moral blame.
- Career
- Work has gone under, and that is inauspicious. What escapes all fault is shielding colleagues or principle at personal cost.
- Relationships
- Two truths hold: the bond is in over its head, which is inauspicious, and sacrifice for the other's good is blameless.
- Home & Household
- No one can fault you for shouldering the family's burden to carry everyone through; the home's situation, however, is plainly inauspicious.
- Health
- Strength spent past its safe depth is inauspicious, the tradition holds; selfless toil for a worthy cause is blameless morally, not medically.
- Marriage
- With the marriage foundering this deep, the outlook is inauspicious; giving up your own interests for spouse and children is morally blameless.
- Exams & Study
- Whatever comes of this inauspicious, over-your-head stretch of study, all-out effort towards a serious, worthy ambition is beyond blame.
- Travel
- This journey leads into water over your head: inauspicious. Yet a risky trip to carry aid into a crisis is blameless.
- Disputes & Legal Matters
- Weigh settlement seriously: a dispute in water this deep reads as inauspicious. Principle defended at personal cost, though, carries no blame.
- Finding a Person
- Risking yourself to reach someone in urgent need remains blameless, even though the search has led into dangerous, inauspicious territory.
- The Decision Point
- At the extreme of excess this course is inauspicious; choose it only when principle or others' rescue truly demands it, and no blame follows.