Hexagram 34 · 雷天大壮

Great Power

Wood · Kun palace

Strong position; restraint matters more than force.

Meaning

Thunder in the sky: great force in a visible position. Great Power describes a situation where you genuinely hold the stronger hand.

Decision Framework

Use power correctly, not merely forcefully.

Decision Guidance

Great Power is the hexagram of advantage. It appears when you have the resources, the position or the leverage to make things happen. That is useful, and it is also the point of maximum risk.

The consistent instruction is to use strength within the rules. The classical image is a ram that charges a hedge and gets its horns caught: power without judgment traps itself. The recommendation is to act firmly but legitimately, to resist winning small points at the cost of your position, and to remember that a strong position is easiest to lose through overconfidence.

Judgment — Classical Text

利贞。

EN Perseverance furthers.

The Six Lines — Classical Text

初九：壮于趾，征凶有孚。
EN Initial nine: strength in the toes — advancing brings misfortune, and that is certain.
九二：贞吉。
EN Nine in the second: perseverance brings good fortune.
九三：小人用壮，君子用罔。
EN Nine in the third: the petty one uses force, the noble one does not — perseverance in danger; the ram butts the hedge and entangles its horns.
九四：贞吉悔亡，藩决不羸。
EN Nine in the fourth: perseverance brings good fortune and regret vanishes; the hedge opens and is not entangled.
六五：丧羊于易，无悔。
EN Six in the fifth: losing the sheep in easy country — no regret.
上六：羝羊触藩，不能退，不能遂。
EN Topmost six: the ram butts the hedge, unable to retreat, unable to advance — nothing furthers; perseverance in hardship brings good fortune.

Keywords

I Ching hexagram 34, Great Power hexagram, Da Zhuang hexagram meaning, hexagram for power