大過
Dà Guò · Great Excess
When the load exceeds the beam, change the beam, not the load.
The judgment
大過：棟橈，利有攸往，亨。
Great excess. The ridgepole bends. It is favorable to go somewhere: the structure cannot hold as it is, so movement is the way through.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex28.judgment.
The image
象曰：澤滅木，大過。君子以獨立不懼，遁世無悶。
The lake drowns the tree: great excess. A capable person stands alone without fear and withdraws without resentment.
Received text; plain English after the Chinese. Source: 周易經傳 (public-domain). Passage: hex28.image.
When the load exceeds the beam, change the beam, not the load.
The six lines
Each line is a stage, from the bottom of the hexagram to the top. Open any line to read it in plain English.
初六 藉用白茅，無咎。 Lay white grass underneath. No blame: extraordinary times call for extra care at the base.
Lay white grass underneath. No blame: extraordinary times call for extra care at the base.
九二 枯楊生稊，老夫得其女妻，無不利。 A withered willow sprouts; an old man takes a young wife. Nothing unfavorable: new life can come from an unlikely pairing.
A withered willow sprouts; an old man takes a young wife. Nothing unfavorable: new life can come from an unlikely pairing.
九三 棟橈，凶。 The ridgepole bends. Misfortune: the center cannot carry what is on it.
The ridgepole bends. Misfortune: the center cannot carry what is on it.
九四 棟隆，吉﹔有它吝。 The ridgepole is raised. Good fortune, but if you have other motives there is regret.
The ridgepole is raised. Good fortune, but if you have other motives there is regret.
九五 枯楊生華，老婦得士夫，無咎無譽。 A withered willow flowers; an old woman takes a young husband. No blame and no praise: a late blooming that changes nothing.
A withered willow flowers; an old woman takes a young husband. No blame and no praise: a late blooming that changes nothing.
上六 過涉滅頂，凶，無咎。 Wading too far, the water goes over your head. Misfortune, but no blame: you went in for something worth it.
Wading too far, the water goes over your head. Misfortune, but no blame: you went in for something worth it.