HEXAGRAM 34 OF 64 THUNDER OVER HEAVEN

THE POWER OF THE GREAT

大壯 Dà Zhuàng

great power, strength, forcefulness, the butting ram, restraint of strength

ROASTIE

The Power of the Great. Thunder over Heaven, the ram butting the hedge. Great strength, forcefulness, and the restraint you don't have. The book says power profits only when it's correct. You've got the horns, honey. You've got the hedge. You've been stuck in it since Tuesday, and you're calling it momentum. Ya roasted!

THE JUDGMENT

The power of the great; firm correctness profits.

THE LINES, BOTTOM TO TOP

Line 1 Strength in the toes, eager to march; advancing brings certain misfortune.
Line 2 Firm correctness brings good fortune, when strength keeps to the middle.
Line 3 The small man uses force, the superior man does not; persisting is dangerous; the ram butts the hedge and tangles its horns.
Line 4 Firmness brings good fortune, regret disappears; the hedge opens and nothing tangles; strength in the axle of a great wagon.
Line 5 Loses the ram in easy circumstances; there is no regret.
Line 6 The ram butts the hedge; it can neither back out nor push through; nothing profits; through hardship, good fortune.

THROW YOUR OWN ALL SIXTY-FOUR

Text: the I Ching, after James Legge's 1882 translation, public domain, trimmed into plain English. The take: a coffee bean, licensed in nothing.