Dazhuang, six at the topHexagram 34, line 6 · Dazhuang (Great Strength) · changing to 14
The line
In plain wordsThe ram has butted its way into the hedge. It cannot back out and cannot get through. Nothing is favorable. Fortunately you are not hard by nature. If you recognize the difficulty and handle it with care, you can still come to good fortune.
The Image commentary on this line
不能退，不能遂，不詳也。艱則吉，咎不長也。
"It cannot pull back, it cannot push through": this was not carefully considered. "Face the difficulty, and there is good fortune": the blame does not last long.
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
慎Proceed with care. The text names both a good and a bad outcome: one way of acting leads to each. The result depends on which you choose.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You forced your way into this, and now you can go neither forward nor back; pushing harder does no good. See how hard it really is, drop the idea of forcing it, and handle it carefully, step by step. It can still turn out well.
- Love
- An argument or a decision you charged into on impulse is now stuck at both ends, and neither of you can back down gracefully. Stop pushing. Admit it is hard and untangle it slowly, with patience and care; things can still turn around.
- Money
- The money you rushed in is stuck: putting in more won't help, and forcing your way out is hard too. First admit you didn't think it through. Stop fighting, steady things carefully and work out a way slowly; it can still be put right.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Dazhuang.
Line position
A yin line in a yin place: it is in its proper place. Its partner is the third line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Top place: the end of the matter. What reaches its limit turns. Know when to stop.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three inscribed sides, old yin), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Dazhuang (Great Strength); when this line changes it becomes Dayou (Great Possession): hexagram 34 changing to 14.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Dayou (Great Possession)
A time of rich harvest. Everything goes very smoothly.