← The I Ching
Hexagram 34 · ☳ over ☰
Great Power
Da Zhuang
The judgment
Power at its height — thunder over heaven, energy in full expression. The danger here is overreach: when power is great, the temptation to press beyond what is right becomes real. Strength used wisely lasts and extends; strength used recklessly burns itself out and invites reversal.
The image. Thunder crashes above heaven — great force at the very height of its expression.
Guidance
Use your current strength and momentum with care for what is right. Don't push past the point of principle — power aligned with what is correct finds its true and lasting reach.
How it’s built
Every hexagram is two trigrams — the lower one beneath the upper. This one is Qián below Zhèn.
☳Upper · Thunderthe Arousing — movement, shock, a sudden beginning, the eldest son
☰Lower · Heaventhe Creative — strength, the sky, the active force, the father