In love
In a relationship, Da guo points to a time when balance is put to the test: better to speak frankly about what weighs on you than to get used to it.
Hexagram 28
I Ching hexagram 28: Preponderance of the Great (Da guo)
Da guo means the preponderance of the great: the ridgepole bends under too heavy a load, and calls for measured action.
- overload
- decision
- measure
The essentials
Da guo at a glance
For you, Da guo describes a situation under strain: what weighs on you needs lightening, or the structure will eventually give way.
A strength
The capacity to act in an exceptional way when the situation is exceptional, without staying a prisoner of habit.
Something to watch
Leaning too long on a structure that is bending, hoping it will hold a while longer.
- What it advises
- Lighten what weighs on you, reinforce your supports, and accept acting outside your habits when the situation requires it.
- Its opposite
- 27. The Corners of the Mouth (Yi)
The situation
Da guo shows a ridgepole that sags: four solid lines in the center, a broken line at each end. The middle is overloaded and the supports are weak. Yet the Judgment recognizes in it a time when any movement can succeed.
The hexagram describes a moment when the ordinary is no longer enough. What weighs on you exceeds what the usual supports can bear, and you have to act outside your habits: decide, lighten, reinforce, or withdraw with dignity.
It invites you to look at the load with clear eyes, not to take refuge in immobility, and to choose a movement that is measured but clean rather than stubbornness.
The image: the Lake above Wind
- AboveLake: joy that is shared
- BelowWind: gentleness that penetrates
Wind over the Lake: the water rises and covers the trees. According to the commentary, the example to follow is that of someone who stands alone without fear and knows how to withdraw from the world without complaint.
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) · brokenSpreading mats of white grass under what you set on the ground: an excess of caution that avoids fault. Prudence makes the difference here.
- 2nd line · solidA withered willow that sprouts again, a mature man who regains vigor beside a young wife: a renewal favorable in everything.
- 3rd line · solidThe ridgepole bends: you insist on propping it up, and the omen is dark. A support that is giving way cannot be held at arm’s length.
- 4th line · solidThe ridgepole rises: this turns out well, but seeking support beyond yourself would leave a regret.
- 5th line · solidA withered willow that blossoms, a mature woman beside a young husband: a late flowering, neither blame nor praise. It does not start anew for all that.
- 6th line (top) · brokenWading through a ford until the head is under water: an extreme risk. The outcome is bad, but there is no blame to assign.
Da guo in your life
At work
At work, the hexagram describes an overload or a project too ambitious for its supports: distribute, delegate, or give up a share to hold on to the essential.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 大過 (dà guò)
- Number
- 28 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Lake (兌) above, Wind (巽) below
- Inner hexagram
- 1. The Creative (Qian) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 28. Preponderance of the Great (Da guo)
- Symbol
- ䷛ (U+4DDB)
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 28
What does I Ching hexagram 28 mean?
Hexagram 28, Da guo, means the preponderance of the great: a load that exceeds what the structure can carry, and that calls for action outside your habits.
Why the image of a ridgepole?
The four solid lines in the center are heavy, while the two broken lines at the ends are weak: a beam thick in the middle and fragile at the ends, which sags.
Related hexagrams