Da Zhuang :: Great Strength

auspicious

大壯

䷡

6 :: first

Wounded foot. Marching forward brings misfortune.

Your first step forward is premature, prideful, and too strong. A minor injury stops progress. It is best to avoid going forward for now.

9 :: second

Good fortune.

Possessing great strength, you are calm and clear. Self-restraint is favorable. Wait your turn. Success is inevitable.

6 :: third

A ram¹ butts a fence and tangles its horns.
When the small use force, there is danger.

You spend all your resources in a strenuous effort to push forward. Disregarding your insufficient strength, you press forward and get trapped by your own aggression (fence).

9 :: fourth

Auspicious. The ram breaks through and damages the chariot wheels.

You break through-survive. A well-timed, sharp-horned attack succeeds beyond your expectations. This breakthrough to freedom has such force that it has even damaged your opponent's ability to counterattack (chariot wheels).

9 :: fifth

Losing sheep. No regrets.

Success is very costly. Determined to go forward, against the odds, you experience great losses but win. You accept the losses without regret.

6 :: top

A ram butts a fence and entangles its horns.
No advance or retreat. Mishap becomes good fortune.

You miscalculate the use of force and, injured by your own violence, fail to win freedom. This line, however, has double auspices. You fail to achieve the exalted goal of freedom but your wounds heal and you do survive.

Image

Da Zhuang contains the omens to be read from the various actions of a sacrificial goat in its instinctive attempts to survive.? It is about using force to escape the pain and/or restrictions of fate. The stiff, lunging movements of the goat are symbolic of all instinctive, desperate, attempts to escape fate. The goat possesses not only the will to survive but also a kind of intuition that guides its unexpected great strength.

Da Zhuang can also mean great injury.

Auspices

The spontaneous use of force may work in some situations, but injury and difficulties surround the misuse of force. Being rambunctious leads to costly mishap, injury and failure, but also survival. The auspices are mixed.

Good for escapes, all out efforts, courage in battle, moving house, and divorce.

Bad for marriage, romance, travel, making your case, and analysis.

Comment

The wise use great strength with great caution, because they know it is costly (great injury). In general, the authors of the Zhouyi give great strength no value, unless it is paired with wisdom.

However, it is also observed that even the weak, when in a desperate situa-tion, naturally possess great strength--the will to survive. The force or instinct to survive has great strength and can have a successful result. This kind of great strength should not be confused with belligerence or mere violence.

Other Correspondences

Business: Sacrificial sales, investing in military industries, labor strikes, and quitting your job.

Disharmonies: Injuries to head, neck and spine, epilepsy, and wind disorders.

Prognosis: Fair. Though the patient responds well to strong treatment at first he/she may remain scarred or handicapped.