26. The Taming Power of the Great

The two trigrams

above

☶

The Mountain

艮 · gèn

a hill or mountain

below

☰

Heaven

乾 · qián

heaven, the sky

The Judgement

The Taming Power of the Great is the hexagram of restrained energy that accumulates: what is held back is not lost, it grows in volume and power, like water behind a dam. The text asks you first of all to be firm and correct, because a great force without discipline scatters. Then it adds something that concerns your concrete life: if you do not content yourself with enjoying your income at home, but put your abilities in the service of others, there will be good fortune; and it will be advantageous to cross the great river, that is, to commit to a difficult undertaking. If these days you feel you have accumulated energy, skill, savings, patience, and wonder whether it is time to spend them, this hexagram says yes, but away from home: do not keep it all for yourself, do not stay in comfort. The practical advice is to prepare methodically before the big step, studying, training, refining your tools, and then to accept the assignment, the challenge, the journey that frightens you a little. The force you have held back until now is exactly what you need to succeed.

The Image

The image is that of heaven enclosed within a mountain: the greatest thing there is, held inside something firm. It is the symbol of an immense accumulation. The wise person, the text says, stores largely in memory the words and deeds of those who came before, to further the growth of their own virtue. If you are going through a phase of preparation, a course of study, an apprenticeship, a period when you seem to accomplish nothing, this image reassures you: you are accumulating. The practical advice is to read, listen to those with experience, take notes on other people's mistakes and successes. The wisdom of others, carefully kept, becomes your strength.

First line

The first line shows someone in a position of peril: it is to their advantage to halt their advance. It is young strength that would like to set off at once, but finds a stronger brake before it, and pressing on would expose it to needless harm. If you feel the impatience to move, to answer, to throw yourself into an initiative, and someone or something is holding you back, do not take it as an injustice. The advice is to stop of your own accord, before the wall stops you: whoever knows how to wait at the beginning goes further.

Second line

The second line shows a carriage with the strap beneath its axle removed: without it, it cannot go forward. But the commentary makes clear that it is the person themselves who stops, wisely, because they hold the central position and understand the moment is not propitious. If you realise that an initiative of yours would meet too strong an opposition, the advice is to unhook the strap yourself: postpone, do not force, do not wear yourself out against someone who has more power than you right now. Stopping on your own, at the right moment, is not a defeat but a clear-headed choice that no one will hold against you.

Third line

The third line shows someone pressing ahead with good horses: the brake is no longer before them, and the one above is heading in the same direction. But the text asks them to realise the difficulty, to stay firm and correct, and to practise daily in driving the chariot and in self-defence: then there will be advantage wherever you go. If the road has finally opened, a hiring, a green light, a powerful ally, do not lower your guard. The advice is to train while you run: keep discipline, update your skills, keep your defences ready. Speed without preparation is a danger.

Fourth line

The fourth line shows the young bull with the piece of wood already placed over its horns, before the horns have even grown: great good fortune. It is the image of precaution taken in advance, when the problem is still small and restraining it costs nothing. If you are dealing with an energy that could become dangerous, an exuberant child, a habit just born, a conflict at its first signs, an overly aggressive collaborator, the advice is to step in right away, gently and firmly. Preventing today with a simple gesture spares you a wearying struggle tomorrow, and gives you cause for joy.

Fifth line

The fifth line shows the tusks of a castrated boar: the tusks remain, but the animal no longer cares to use them. Good fortune. It is the position of someone responsible for containing a dangerous force who, instead of confronting it head-on, defuses it at the root, removing its reason to attack. If you have to manage a difficult person or an explosive situation, do not seek a frontal clash: ask yourself what feeds that aggression and act there, with a precaution taken in good time. The advice is to remove the cause, not to fight the effect: that way everyone benefits.

Sixth line

The sixth line shows someone as if in command of the firmament of heaven: there will be progress. The work of containment is over, the accumulated force can at last express itself, and the way is grandly open. It is the moment when everything you have held back, studied, prepared, finds its natural outlet and carries you upward. If you have waited a long time, disciplined yourself, set things aside, this line tells you your hour has come. The practical advice: act with breadth and generosity, take on the role that is yours, and use your strength to help others grow too.

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