← The I Ching
Hexagram 26 · ☶ over ☰
Great Taming
Da Chu
The judgment
Immense energy held and disciplined by something still greater — the mountain above the heavens, containing the force of heaven itself. This hexagram speaks to the real power of restraint and cultivation: holding great potential back until the right moment arrives, accumulating rather than spending.
The image. Mountain towers above heaven — the greatest energy held within firm and steady bounds.
Guidance
Invest in preparation and mastery rather than spending what you have now. What is contained and developed over time will yield far more than what is used immediately.
How it’s built
Every hexagram is two trigrams — the lower one beneath the upper. This one is Qián below Gèn.
☶Upper · MountainKeeping Still — stillness, limits, meditation, the youngest son
☰Lower · Heaventhe Creative — strength, the sky, the active force, the father