34. Great Power
Great Power is hexagram 34 of the 64 in the I Ching, also known as the Book of Changes (in Chinese Dà Zhuàng, 大壯).
Also known as: Power of the Great.
Great power is only great when it holds more measure than urge.
Core image
This hexagram shows strong, visible force standing ready to make itself felt. The field is charged; the capacity is there and wants out. There is no shortage of power here. The only question is whether that force is also rightly used.
Tension
The tension sits in the pull to take great capacity at once for a right. But this hexagram glorifies no brute expansion. Great power can break much open, and damage much too, when measure does not guide it. Not every possibility deserves discharge.
Distortion
Great power distorts the moment it comes to love itself. Then capacity turns into an argument all on its own. One pushes not because it is right, but because one can.
Stance
Carry the force upright, but keep it under discipline. Great power asks not for shame, but for direction. Do not let capacity spill into collision where it would work better in steady measure. Real strength has no need of needless proof.
Closing line
The greater the force, the smaller its right to be impatient.
Plain-language entrances.
Derived addresses for this hexagram. They help search and recognition, but do not change the source meaning.
hexagram 34 grote kracht en maat
Hexagram 34 gaat over grote kracht: vermogen en momentum die maat nodig hebben om juist te werken.
Changing lines of hexagram 34
- Line 1. At the start the force shoots into the limbs too fast. There is plenty of will, but little of the right place yet. Whoever cuts loose now works against themselves sooner than forward.
- Line 2. Here the force grows straighter and easier to carry. The movement still holds its capacity, but loses its raw haste. That is what makes this line strong.
- Line 3. At this point the force shows itself too gladly. One uses capacity to make oneself visible. By that, power tips over into crudeness.
- Line 4. This line finds a passage for great force without a rough collision. That is the art of this hexagram. The strong need not always break in order to get through.
- Line 5. Here the force tames itself in the midst of its full availability. That asks for much. For that very reason this line holds more power than one who only erupts.
- Line 6. When great force jams itself in the wrong place, it grows clumsy and painful. Then one sits wedged in one's own capacity. This line asks for a return to measure before the force presses itself stuck.
Related hexagrams
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 34
What does hexagram 34, Great Power, mean in the I Ching?
Great power is only great when it holds more measure than urge. This hexagram shows strong, visible force standing ready to make itself felt. The field is charged; the capacity is there and wants out. There is no shortage of power here. The only question is whether that force is also rightly used.
What does hexagram 34 (Great Power) ask of you?
The tension sits in the pull to take great capacity at once for a right. But this hexagram glorifies no brute expansion. Great power can break much open, and damage much too, when measure does not guide it. Not every possibility deserves discharge.
Read what is in motion in your situation.
A hexagram only takes on meaning in relation to your own question. Ask one and read what appears.