I Ching hexagram 26

I Ching hexagram 26: Great Taming

大畜 dà chù · a mountain above heaven

Heaven held inside a mountain: great strength restrained and stored until it is ready to be spent well.

The judgment: It pays to stay true. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It pays to cross the great river.
"Under the conditions of Tâ Khû it will be advantageous to be firm and correct. (If its subject do not seek to) enjoy his revenues in his own family (without taking service at court), there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous for him to cross the great stream."
James Legge's translation, 1882
What it says to you: Heaven sits inside the mountain: enormous force held still and stored. This is the hexagram of great restraint and great accumulation at once, strength kept in check until it has grown into something worth spending. The lines show how the taming is done, and it is practical: a cart with its axle strap pulled out so it stays put, a board fixed over a young bull's budding horns, a boar gelded so its tusks stop being a threat. You head off trouble early, while it is still small. The judgment then turns outward. Do not eat at home, it says: take your stored ability into public service rather than living off your own pantry. Cross the great river. So build reserves, train daily like the charioteer in the third line, and when the road opens, go.

Matter by matter

Love: Restraint now builds something strong. Hold back impulses; patience deepens the bond for later.
Work: Train, study, accumulate skill. Then take on a big public role; the text favors serving beyond home.
Money: Save and build reserves. Stored resources pay off when a large opportunity arrives.
A yes or no question: Yes, with a condition. Prepare and restrain yourself first; then the big step pays.

The six lines of Great Taming

A hexagram is built from the bottom up, so the first line is the lowest. You read a line's text only when your cast made it a moving line.

Bottom line, solid

There is danger. It pays to stop.

You want to push ahead, and something stronger is holding you back. Don't fight it. Stop now, gather yourself, and wait; pushing against the restraint is exactly where the danger lies.
Second line, solid

The cart's axle strap is taken off.

You stop yourself, the way a carter removes the strap that holds axle to body so the cart cannot roll. No one forces you. Choosing to pause of your own accord is wise here.
Third line, solid

Good horses race on. It pays to know the hardship and stay true. Practice daily with chariot and guard; then it pays to go.

The way is finally open and you can move fast. Don't get careless. Keep drilling the basics every day, keep your defenses up, and then go wherever you need to go.
Fourth line, broken

A board over the young bull's horns. Supreme good fortune.

Prevent the problem before it grows horns. A small precaution now, a rule, a boundary, a check, saves you a goring later. This is the best fortune in the hexagram.
Fifth line, broken

The tusks of a gelded boar. Good fortune.

Deal with the source of aggression rather than its weapons. A gelded boar keeps its tusks but loses the urge to use them. Address what drives the danger and you are safe.
Top line, solid

What a highway of heaven! Success.

The holding back is over. Everything stored up is now free to move, and the road is wide open. Use what you built; the way is clear, and success lies along it.

About hexagram 26

What does I Ching hexagram 26 mean?

Hexagram 26, Great Taming, puts a mountain above heaven. Heaven held inside a mountain: great strength restrained and stored until it is ready to be spent well. Its judgment reads: It pays to stay true. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It pays to cross the great river.

Is hexagram 26 a yes or a no?

Yes, with a condition. Prepare and restrain yourself first; then the big step pays.

What does hexagram 26 mean for love?

Restraint now builds something strong. Hold back impulses; patience deepens the bond for later.

What does hexagram 26 mean for work?

Train, study, accumulate skill. Then take on a big public role; the text favors serving beyond home.

Cast the coins for a new question , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks

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The judgment and lines are rendered from the Chinese text; the quoted judgment is Legge's 1882 translation, and every other English line is Jade Almanac's own. A cast is a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.