Thunder rolls high in the sky; four strong lines push upward. Da Zhuang is a time of great strength and momentum, when you can make things happen. The danger is using power just because you have it. True greatness of power lies in restraint and in staying aligned with what is right: strength guided by principle, not by force.
Judgment
大壯：利貞。
Great strength: steadfastness is favorable.
Image
雷在天上，大壯；君子以非禮弗履。
Thunder high in the sky: great strength. Taking this as a model, the noble one takes no step that propriety does not allow.
- Strength and momentum
- Power with principle
- Restraint in strength
- Avoiding brute force
- Right use of power
- power
- strength
- momentum
- restraint
- principle
- vigor
- Real power knows when not to use force.
- Let strength serve what is right.
- Momentum can carry you into traps; choose your path deliberately.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Nine at the beginning 初九
Line text
壯于趾，征凶，有孚。
Strength in the toes. Marching on: misfortune; this is certain.
At the lowest level, the urge to push forward by force is strong but has no backing. Advancing now would certainly go wrong.
- Premature force
- Lack of backing
- Pushing before you have real strength
- Building strength before advancing
Line 2Nine in the second place 九二
Line text
貞吉。
Steadfastness: good fortune.
The way begins to open and resistance gives way. Stay balanced and don't get carried away by success.
- Balanced advance
- Self-control
- Overconfidence as resistance yields
- Steady progress kept in proportion
Line 3Nine in the third place 九三
Line text
小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。
Small-minded people use strength; the noble one does not. Steadfastness in danger. A ram butts the fence and tangles its horns.
Showing off strength or forcing your way through creates entanglement. The wise person refrains from boasting, knowing that brute force gets stuck.
- Brute force
- Getting stuck
- Butting against obstacles
- Restraint that avoids getting trapped
Line 4Nine in the fourth place 九四
Line text
貞吉悔亡，藩決不羸，壯于大輿之輹。
Steadfastness: good fortune; regret passes. The fence gives way, the horns are not tangled. Strength in the axle-block of a great cart.
Quiet, persistent strength works where force failed: the obstacle gives way. Power that is hidden in the axle, not displayed in the horns, carries a heavy load.
- Quiet persistence
- Obstacles giving way
- Showing strength rather than applying it
- Breakthrough through steady effort
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
喪羊于易，无悔。
Losing the ram with ease: no regret.
You let go of your stubborn, aggressive side easily. With nothing left to fight, there is nothing to regret.
- Letting go of stubbornness
- Ease
- Clinging to a combative stance
- Peace through softening
Line 6Six at the top 上六
Line text
羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉。
A ram butts the fence; it can neither go back nor push through. Nothing is favorable. Acknowledge the hardship: good fortune.
Having pushed too far, you are stuck. Recognize the difficulty honestly and stop struggling; this calm acceptance opens a way out.
- Deadlock from overreach
- Acceptance
- Struggling harder when stuck
- Release through recognizing the situation
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
The strong lines have advanced past the middle of the hexagram; power is ascendant, and thunder above heaven adds movement to strength. The reading may suggest you are in a strong position, with energy, influence or advantage. The judgment's brief advice is pointed: perseverance in what is right. Strength without direction becomes reckless.
The image sets the standard: do nothing that is not in keeping with what is fitting. The famous ram that butts against a hedge and gets its horns stuck appears twice in the lines, as a warning against using force on obstacles. In relation to a question, Da Zhuang may emphasize confident action combined with self-restraint, and the patience to let obstacles give way rather than smashing into them.