The Power of the Great in Creativity

The gates are open — resistance is giving way, the work is moving (line 2). That's exactly when the danger changes shape: success breeds the confidence that discards the modesty which earned it. Keep working as though the gates were still shut — same humility, same patience, no turn toward forcing or over-controlling the material from your new vantage. Do your real work at the axle (line 4): the strength that shows nothing externally and moves the heavy load, removing resistance by quiet, persevering effort rather than assault. What force couldn't breach, patience walks through. The measure of your power here is the paths you decline, not the ones you smash open.

If you're stuck or beginning with a full head of energy, line 1 gives a blunt verdict: power gathered at the toes, itching to charge — pushing forward from that lowest place brings misfortune, certainly. Presence at the start is not permission to force. Restore your equanimity and let the work correct itself rather than butting at it. And line 3 is the portrait to avoid: the goat, all momentum and no judgment, ramming the same blocked passage until it hangs trapped by its own horns. Boasting your strength, forcing the outcome, dominating the resistant material — these entangle. Move when the way opens; wait when it doesn't. Untangle the horns, and leave the hedge alone.