Great Strength
dà zhuàng · Thunder over HeavenBeing able to push does not mean you should.
利貞。
Your strength is running high, which is exactly when it needs to stay honest. Power serves you when it stays tied to what is right, not when it simply pushes.
The six lines
初九：壯于趾，征凶，有孚。
All your strength is in your toes, itching to march. Charging ahead now invites trouble, however sincere you feel. Let it wait.
九二：貞吉。
You stand steady and centered, a good place to be. Keep to your course and do not let your strength run ahead of you.
九三：小人用壯，君子用罔，貞厲。羝羊觸藩，羸其角。
Petty people throw force around; the wise hold back. A ram that butts a fence only snags its horns. Even a just cause carries risk.
九四：貞吉悔亡，藩決不羸，壯于大輿之輹。
Keep faith and regret lifts. The fence gives way, your horns are free, and your force bears weight like the strut under a wagon.
六五：喪羊于易，无悔。
You lose the ram somewhere easy and open, and nothing that matters is gone. Let the stubborn push go without regret.
上六：羝羊觸藩，不能退，不能遂，无攸利，艱則吉。
The ram is stuck in the fence, unable to back out or push through. Force gets you nowhere. Accept the difficulty, and things can ease.
The I Ching is a tool for reflection. Do not use it as the basis for medical, legal or money decisions.