In love
As a couple, Da xu emphasizes a time of restraint: do not rush a commitment, let the bond grow stronger before making it formal.
Hexagram 26
I Ching hexagram 26: The Taming Power of the Great (Da xu)
Da xu means the taming power of the great: building up and shaping strength, then waiting for the right moment to act.
- accumulation
- patience
- mastery
The essentials
Da xu at a glance
For you, Da xu points to a time of preparation: it is better to hold back your momentum and feed yourself on what matters before launching it.
A strength
A strength that grows because it holds back: preparation gives later action its weight.
Something to watch
Confusing restraint with immobility: building up without ever acting ends up wearing down the momentum itself.
- What it advises
- Take the time to learn and gather your resources, then set the moment of action yourself, without giving in to impatience.
- Its opposite
- 45. Gathering Together (Cui)
The situation
Da xu describes a great force that holds itself back. Heaven is contained beneath the Mountain: the energy exists, but it is held, accumulated, shaped. The Judgment finds it favorable to remain firm and upright.
It adds that it is good not to be content with what you have at home, and to put yourself at the service of something greater than yourself, even if it means crossing the great river: accumulation prepares an action of real scope.
The hexagram invites you to feed yourself, learn, build reserves, and choose the moment when the momentum will stop being held back. Holding back is not giving up: it gives strength the time to ripen.
The image: the Mountain above Heaven
- AboveMountain: the stillness that steadies
- BelowHeaven: the force that creates
Heaven within the Mountain: a great force held by a stable mass. The commentary on the image draws a lesson about study: draw from the words and deeds of the ancients what lets you grow in worth.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · solidDanger looms: better to stop advancing and hold back instead of running into the obstacle.
- 2nd line · solidA cart with its axle removed can no longer move: ceasing to roll is also accepting an enforced pause.
- 3rd line · solidGood horses of fine breed, set off together: advancing is possible if you gauge the difficulty of the road and practice every day. Then every direction is favorable.
- 4th line · brokenA piece of wood is fixed across the horns of a young bull before it can hurt anyone: great good fortune, because you prevent rather than correct.
- 5th line · brokenThe tusks of a gelded boar no longer wound: the force is calmed at its root, which is held to be fortunate.
- 6th line (top) · solidThe road of Heaven finally opens: restraint has done its work, the momentum can unfold, and nothing stops it in its course.
Da xu in your life
At work
In your activity, Da xu favors training, preparation, and building reserves: skills, economy of means, alliances, before a big step.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 大畜 (dà xù)
- Number
- 26 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Mountain (艮) above, Heaven (乾) below
- Inner hexagram
- 54. The Marrying Maiden (Gui mei) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 25. Innocence (Wu wang)
- Symbol
- ䷙ (U+4DD9)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 26
What does I Ching hexagram 26 mean?
Hexagram 26, Da xu, means the taming power of the great: a force that builds up, takes shape, and waits for the right moment to unfold.
How does Da xu differ from Xiao xu?
Da xu, The Taming Power of the Great, holds a great force within a stable mass: it is deep preparation. Xiao xu, hexagram 9, is a lighter restraint that merely slows things down.