初六：藉用白茅，无咎。
An unusual task merits extra care at the beginning. A thoughtfully protected foundation can prevent damage later.
I Ching Hexagram 28
Dà Guò · Great Exceeding
大过 · Hexagram 28
Da Guo describes a burden beyond the ordinary, like a roof beam bending under its load. Four strong inner lines with weaker ends suggest strength that is unevenly supported. An unusual adjustment is needed to bring responsibility and support back into proportion.
Upper trigram: Lake/Duì
Lower trigram: Wind/Xùn
The situation you may be in
Work, care, or relationship duties may be stretching the familiar arrangement to its limit. Greater toughness alone cannot sustain it. Identify the weight and who can help carry it.
How to respond
Remove unnecessary burdens and obtain practical support, changing the usual approach where needed. Preserve the responsibility that matters without treating carrying everything yourself as courage.
Judgment and Image
Judgment
大过：栋桡，利有攸往，亨。
Great Exceeding. The ridgepole sags. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. Success.
Image
泽灭木，大过；君子以独立不惧，遁世无闷。
Lake over wood: Great Exceeding. The superior person stands alone without fear and withdraws from the world without melancholy.
Applying it to real life
Love & relationships
Examine whether one person carries most of the emotional and practical weight. Revisit support and space instead of using love to justify an unsustainable load.
Career & work
When demands exceed the way capability is arranged, change roles, priorities, or scope. Exceptional effort during an urgent period should not quietly become a permanent expectation.
Choice & decisions
Compare the actual capacity each option requires, especially at its weakest point. An unconventional choice may be necessary, but understand how it relieves the pressure.
Timing & pace
Obvious overload should not be prolonged into a settled way of life. Relieve the most urgent strain before planning the crossing, rather than waiting for support to fail completely.
The six changing lines
The lines unfold from the bottom upward, describing one pattern of change from its first appearance to its extreme. If your reading has a changing line, begin with that position.
九二：枯杨生稊，老夫得其女妻，无不利。
An old undertaking may renew through fresh support. What matters is returning vitality, not simply preserving its previous appearance.
九三：栋桡，凶。
The support is bending under strain. More pressure through willpower will worsen the imbalance; redistribute weight and support.
九四：栋隆，吉。有它吝。
Restored support can carry a substantial task. Pursuing unrelated advantages may weaken the balance that has just been regained.
九五：枯杨生华，老妇得其士夫，无咎无誉。
A brief flowering does not necessarily mean renewed roots. Appreciate the moment without using its appearance to justify a lasting commitment.
上六：过涉灭顶，凶，无咎。
A crossing beyond your ability can cause serious harm even when undertaken from duty. Seek assistance rather than making sacrifice the only option.
A common misreading
Da Guo does not glorify reckless sacrifice. Its final line distinguishes freedom from blame from a disastrous outcome: an honorable motive does not make the result safe.
Related hexagrams
Text and interpretation
Updated 12 September 2026Reviewed by MysticEast Research
This page preserves the Chinese Judgment, Image, and line texts of the received Zhouyi. MysticEast's modern explanations are newly written to emphasize stages of change and practical judgment rather than fixed good-or-bad predictions.
Read the Zhouyi at the Chinese Text ProjectLet the hexagram meet your actual question
A guide gives you the map. A cast made with a clear question can help locate the exact stage of change you are experiencing.