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Small Powers62
Focus on the details. Embrace humility and small steps to achieve success. Avoid overreaching or taking on too much to prevent failure.
↓ Line 1
This line warns against overreaching or attempting too much. It suggests that one should be cautious and avoid taking unnecessary risks.
↓ Line 2
This line suggests that one should focus on immediate and attainable goals rather than distant or ambitious ones. It advises contentment with modest achievements.
↓ Great Power34
Harness inner strength wisely; true power comes from patience and understanding, not force.
Original Readings
62 Small Powers
Other titles: Preponderance of the Small, The Symbol of Excess in Small Things, The Small get by, Slight Excess, Small Exceeding, Small Surpassing, Excess of the Small, Small gains, Conscientiousness, Smallness in Excess, Exceeding the Mean, Proliferation of Details, "Like a bird, do not fly too high or attempt too much because this will lead to disaster." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Small Powers indicates that there will be progress and attainment in small affairs, but not in great affairs. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. It is like the song of a flying bird: It is better to descend than to ascend. In this way there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Small. Success. Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done; great things should not be done. The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.
Blofeld:The Small Get By -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Small things can be accomplished now, but not great ones. When birds fly high, their singing is out of tune. The humble, but not the mighty, are favored now with great good fortune. [To aim high now would be to put ourselves out of accord with the times.]
Liu:Slight Excess. Success. Continuing is of benefit. Undertaking small things, not great things. The song of the flying bird. It is not good to go up; it is good to stay below. Great good fortune. [Slight Excess signifies the slight excess or small mistake that can prevent the achievement of great things.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Exceeding, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Permitting Small
Affairs. Not permitting Great Affairs. Flying bird: abandoning's sound. Above not proper, below proper. The great significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overwhelming variety of encounters and details. It emphasizes that an excessive concern with adapting yourself to these inner and outer events is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Small Surpassing : Receipt; beneficial to determine; possible for little service, but not possible for great service. The sound left by the flying bird is not proper for ascent but is proper for descent; greatly auspicious.
Cleary (1):Predominance of the small is developmental, beneficial if correct. It is suitable for a small affair but not for a great one. The call left by a flying bird should not rise but descend. This is very auspicious.
Cleary (2):Small excess turns out all right. It is beneficial to be correct. It is all right for small matters, not for great matters. A flying bird leaves its cry; it should not ascend but descend – then there will be great good fortune.
Wu: Excess of the Small indicates pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. One may succeed in doing small business, but not big one. Like the lingering sound of a bird flying by, it is not suitable to go upward, but suitable to go downward. Great fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder above a hill forms Small Powers. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder on the mountain: the image of Preponderance of the Small. Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence. In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief. In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift. [The superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the mountains. The Superior Man now acts with too much reverence, experiences too much sorrow from bereavement and is overly thrifty in satisfying his needs.
Liu: Thunder over the mountain symbolizes Slight Excess. The superior man's conduct is overly humble; In mourning he laments exceedingly, and he is stingy in his spending.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing thunder. Small Exceeding. A chun tzu uses moving Exceeding to reach-to courtesy. A chun tzu uses losing Exceeding to reach-to mourning. A chun tzu uses availing of Exceeding to reach-to parsimony.
Cleary (1): There is thunder over a mountain, exessively small. Thus superior people are excessively deferential in conduct, excessively sad in mourning, excessively frugal in consumption.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a mountain – small excess. Genteel people are exceedingly deferential in conduct, exceedingly sad in mourning, and exceedingly abstemious in consumption.
Wu: Thunder rolls over the mountain; this is Excess of the Small. Thus the jun zi conducts himself with a little excess in respect to others, a little excess in sorrow at mourning, and a little excess in frugality in expenditure.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Small Powers we see the magnetic lines exceeding the others, and giving the intimation of progress and attainment. To be advantageous, such excesses must be associated with firm correctness, and must always be in harmony with the requirements of the time. The magnetic lines are in the central places, and hence it is said that small excesses may be done in small affairs with good effect. Of the dynamic lines, one is not in its proper place, and the other is not central; thus it is said that small excesses should not be done in great affairs. In the hexagram we have the symbol of the flying bird, whose song reminds us that it is better to descend than ascend. To ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
Legge: The meaning of this hexagram in which an excess of yin lines prevails, may be grasped by contrasting its image with that of hexagram number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, in which an excess of yang lines prevails. Here the idea is the prevalence of small or inferior powers, and the lesson to be learned is how to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Is it ever good to deviate from the established course of procedure? The answer is that it is permissible only in small matters, but never in matters of import. Sometimes form may be dispensed with, but never substance, and the thing must always be done responsibly and with appropriate humility. The symbol of the bird is to teach humility -- it is better for it to descend, keeping near to where it can perch and rest, than to ascend into the homeless regions of the upper air.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ground your flights of fancy.
The Superior Man bends over backwards to be correct.
Small Powers shows the preceding figure of Inner Truth turned inside-out. Here the magnetic lines are all on the outside -- uncontained and uncontrolled. The hexagram often reflects a situation in which the "archetypes": the passions, appetites, emotions, drives and instincts have left their proper places within the psyche and are flying free like birds escaped from the zoo. Most of the lines either depict the danger of such a situation or warn about how to control it.
In this inflated, compulsive state of identity, we and the drive are at our most harmful; the drive will unfold and we will act out its extreme, inappropriate and destructive side. In the process we get the worst of it, along with the other people involved. The wrong thing usually happens at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A capacity for moving toward differentiation and transforming the drive will not arise until the state of identity has been dissolved. This requires a confrontation of the drive as a Thou, as something that is not I, as something separate from ourselves. Only at this point can the inner dialogue begin. Until then the drive remains unconscious, primitive and destructive. Only after the identity has been dissolved by learning to experience the drive as an autonomous entity that is separate from the ego, do we get a chance to choose a right time and place and to develop the positive potential of the drive. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
Interestingly, the only line that seems to be correctly "out of its cage" is the second -- suggesting a situation in which an intuitive inner wisdom takes proper precedence over the usual firm correctness of "reason."
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, suggests the idea of a bird flying, and ascending until the issue is evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The bird meets with misfortune through flying. [A bird ought to remain in the nest until it is fledged. If it tries to fly before this, it invites misfortune.]
Blofeld: A bird in flight brings misfortune.
Liu: A bird encounters misfortune when it soars.
Ritsema/Karcher: Flying bird: using a pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The flying bird brings inauspiciousness.
Cleary (1): A bird that flies thereby brings misfortune.
Wu: The flying bird gets its misfortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Nothing can be done to avoid this issue. Wilhelm/Baynes: Here there is nothing to be done. Blofeld: There is nothing we can do about it. [The bird is merely a symbol; we are due to encounter misfortune which we are powerless to avert.]Ritsema/Karcher: Wherefore not permitted thus indeed. Cleary (2): Nothing can be done about it. Wu: It cannot be helped.
Legge: Line one is magnetic in a dynamic place, and possessed by the idea of exceeding the limitations of the hexagram. Her correlate is the dynamic fourth line, belonging to the trigram of Movement, so that instead of being repressed from her tendency to ascend, she is actually stimulated to do so. Nothing can be done to avoid an evil issue because she brings it on herself.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man should heed the case of a bird leaving the nest before it is fledged. He should spend his early life learning the traditional ways in order to avoid wasting his energies in senseless jousting.
Wing: If you are considering an extraordinary plan, forget it. The time and your position could not be more inappropriate. Your destiny lies in the ordinary or traditional, and anything beyond that would lead you into danger.
Editor: Despite the gloomy Confucian commentary, my experience with this line has usually been conditional: "If the bird flies, disaster is inevitable." The implicit conclusion is: "If the bird doesn't fly, it will escape the unpleasant consequences." The image of the bird (an air creature symbolizes a thought, concept or idea) can suggest blue-sky thinking that will only end up lost in space. Wilhelm’s commentary offers the idea of a fledgling trying to fly before it is ready, suggesting that the impulse to act may be more premature than improper.
If we do not know what moves us we are in no position to understand what we are doing, nor are we in any position to choose what we wish to do. We may think we decide what we want to do but what actually happens may be quite another matter. Without an awareness of the psychic fields in which we operate, any idea of freedom of will, decision or of relationship is an illusion. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
A. You have allowed your thoughts to run away with you.
B. You are in over your head -- have exceeded your ability to cope with the reality of the situation.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject passing by her grandfather, and meeting with her grandmother; not attempting anything against her ruler, but meeting her as her minister. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: She passes by her ancestor and meets her ancestress. He does not reach his prince and meets the official. No blame.
Blofeld: Passing by the spirit tablets of his ancestors, he encountered the ghost of (or else the tablet of) his late mother. He did not get as far as the Prince but encountered one of the ministers -- no error!
Liu: He passes over his deceased grandfather and meets his deceased grandmother. He does not reach the king but meets an official. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Exceeding one's grandfather. Meeting one's grandmother. Not extending-to one's chief. Meeting one's servant. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Surpassing his grandfather, meeting his grandmother: Not reaching his lord, meeting his servant; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Passing the grandfather, you meet the mother; not reaching the lord, you meet the retainer. No fault.
Cleary (2): Going past the grandfather, etc. ... you meet the administrator, etc.
Wu: He passes by his grandfather and meets with his grandmother. He does not reach the ruler, but meets with the minister. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: A minister should not overpass the ruler. Wilhelm/Baynes: The official should not wish to surpass the prince. Blofeld: He did not reach the Prince because he was unable to get by the minister. [We fail, but through no fault of ours, to reach as high as we'd hoped.] Ritsema/Karcher: Not extending to one's chief. A servant not permitted Exceeding indeed. Cleary (2): The administrator is not to be surpassed. Wu: Because the minister should not be bypassed.
Legge: The second line is magnetic but in her proper central place. Her correlate is the magnetic fifth-line ruler of the hexagram. The dynamic lines separating them represent her father and grandfather, but she passes by them to meet with her grandmother in line five. She moves toward the grandmother-ruler not as an enemy, but with the loyal humility of a proper minister.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man fails to meet the chief executive, but goes about his duties among other officials. He does not force his way into the limelight.
Wing: Use whatever common affiliations you have with others to bring you into a secure position. No matter what kind of connection you make, it is the connection itself that is important. Hold as closely as possible, however, to traditional methods.
Editor: Blofeld, Liu, Ritsema/Karcher (and Wilhelm by implication) all state that the "grandfather" and "grandmother" are deceased ancestors. Ritsema/Karcher translate "grandmother" as: "Second ancestor generation ... venerated as source of her many descendants." Psychologically, we can assume that the "ancestral grandmother" relates to a primal Yin archetype. Here, a female (Eros principle) passes by two males (logos principle) to unite (correctly in this instance) with another yin line -- which also rules the hexagram. Psychologically, the image suggests the subordination of intellect to a deeper source of wisdom within the psyche. A fair paraphrase of the Confucian commentary might be: "Don't exceed your authority." Perhaps a warning to the ego not to impose its preconceived ideas on the unusual situation portrayed by this line. If this is the only changing line, the corresponding line in the new hexagram, 32 – Consistency, is: Remorse disappears . The relationship between correlate lines in these two hexagrams helps explain each other. Siu’s paraphrase in the latter case is often useful: The man endures by keeping his force of character within the bounds of available power.
The utterances of the heart -- unlike those of the discriminating intellect -- always relate to the whole. The heartstrings sing like an Aeolian harp only to the gentle breath of a premonitory mood, which does not drown the song but listens. Jung -- The Symbolic Life
A. The intellect defers to the wisdom of the heart.
B. Go with your intuition.
C. Don't get ahead of yourself.
34 Great Power
Other titles: The Power of the Great, The Symbol of Great Vigor, Persons of Great Authority, Great Strength, Great Invigorating, Great Maturity, Accumulated Force, The Strength of the Mighty, Righteous Power, Excessive Force
Judgment
Legge:Great Power necessitates firm correctness.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld: The Power of the Great. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. [This hexagram with a solid group of firm lines topped by a small number of yielding lines obviously signifies strength -- in this case the power to succeed in spite of difficulties. Much of what follows concerns goats -- a symbol presumably suggested by the form of the hexagram, namely a solid body distinguished by a pair of horns -- the yielding lines at the top.]
Liu: Great Power. It is of benefit to continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Great Invigorating , Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the invigorating power of a central creative idea. It emphasizes that animating everything around you through this guiding motivation is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to invigorate through the great!]
Shaughnessy: Great Maturity: Beneficial to determine.
Cleary(1):Great power is beneficial when correct.
Wu: Great Strength indicates that it is advantageous to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder over heaven forms the hexagram of Great Power. The superior man, in accordance with this, does not take one step that is not in accordance with propriety.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder in heaven above: The image of The Power of the Great. Thus the superior man does not tread upon paths that do not accord with established order.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder in the sky. The Superior Man never takes a step involving impropriety. [Note: The combination of trigrams meaning thunder and sky suggests something of the awe-inspiring quality of the truly great.]
Liu: Thunder in the sky above symbolizes Great Power. The superior man's conduct does not oppose the rules.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder located above heaven. Great Invigorating. A chun tzu uses no codes whatever, nowhere treading.
Cleary (1): Thunder is up in the sky, with great power. Thus do superior people refrain from what is improper.
Cleary (2): … Developed people do not do what is improper.
Wu: There is thunder above heaven; this is Great Strength. Thus the jun zi does not practice what is not proper.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Great Powerwe see that which is great becoming strong. The trigram of Strength directs the trigram of Movement, and hence the whole is expressive of vigor. But that which is great necessitates firm correctness. The attributes of heaven and earth are displayed when firmness and correctness attain their ideal state.
Legge: Because the dynamic lines predominate in Great Power,the figure suggests a state in which there is an abundance of strength and vigor. Is strength alone enough for the conduct of affairs? Of course not! Strength must always be subordinated to the idea of right, and exerted only in harmony with it.
The lower trigram symbolizes Strength, the upper symbolizes Movement. In the Confucian commentary, "that which is great” denotes the group of four dynamic lines which strikes us on looking at the figure, and also the superior men in positions of power, of whom these are the representatives. That the attributes of heaven and earth are displayed means that the power of men should be a reflection of the great power which we see impartially working in nature.
Ch'eng-tzu says on the Image: "Thunder rolling in the sky and making all things shake is the symbol of Great Power." In relating its application to man, he quotes a beautiful saying of antiquity: "The strong man is he who overcomes himself."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Control yourself.
The Superior Man does nothing that is not in accordance with the principles of the Work.
Wilhelm and Blofeld translate this hexagram as The Power of the Great., but I prefer Liu's rendition of Great Power, because it has a more neutral connotation. The Power of the Great suggests the might of kings and emperors, and implies "superior" power wielded at one's own discretion. It is too easy to misinterpret this hexagram as a clear injunction to take unilateral action. Such is seldom the case -- the hexagram depicts a charge of latent energy which must be properly managed.
The figure is usually compared with the image of a ram or goat -- the four lower dynamic lines being the body, and the two upper magnetic lines representing the horns. Since this hexagram is the preceding figure of Retreat turned upside down, one can imagine the two together as a person retreating across a pasture pursued by a charging beast. The ram/goat is mentioned in four of the six lines of the hexagram. This is certainlyGreat Power, but in such a crude form it cannot be truthfully called The Power of the Great.
Truly Great Power, as the Judgment tells us, is derived from our will to restrain our emotions, instincts and appetites. Note that lines two and four are the most positively forceful lines in the hexagram and that both imply restraint of power as the proper way to attain one's goals. Without changing lines, the hexagram sometimes refers to provocations in which one is "legitimately” tempted to a self-righteous display of "power.” Remember that other people's ego-trips are none of your concern: the superior man does not respond to them with other than dignified reserve. Regard it as a test and be joyful if you pass it!
Everything found in later literature seems to indicate that these meditative schools required a strong discipline and faithful adherence to a strict regimen. The schools were extremely demanding, and were open only to those willing to devote themselves totally. Before even being admitted to one of these ancient meditative schools, a person had to be not only spiritually advanced but in complete control of all his emotions and feelings. Beyond that, the disciplines of the Torah and commandments were central to these schools, and these disciplines required a degree of self-mastery to which not everyone could aspire. Aryeh Kaplan -- Jewish Meditation