Hexagram 26: The Taming Power of the Great — I Ching Meaning

ChineseTa Ch'u TrigramsMountain over Heaven Symbol

The Judgment

The Taming Power of the Great: perseverance furthers. Not eating at home brings good fortune; it furthers one to cross the great water. Heaven's creative force is held within the mountain — enormous power under firm restraint, charging like a reservoir. Such stored strength should be spent in public service and great undertakings, not consumed privately.

The Image

Heaven within the mountain: the superior person acquaints themselves with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen their character thereby. Great storage includes wisdom — the strong study the old masters daily and bank the ages' strength in their own nature.

What This Hexagram Means for You

You are accumulating real power — skill, resources, character — and this hexagram governs the holding of it: keep the charge building under discipline rather than leaking it in small displays. Study while you store; the strength you bank now, deepened by learning, is meant for a great crossing that is coming. When the moment arrives, spend the reservoir publicly and boldly — stored power exists for the big undertaking, not the comfortable home. Restraint now, greatness soon: that is this hexagram's contract.

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