Preponderance of the Great in Decision

The lake has risen over the treetops, and this is a pivotal moment — dangerous and opportune in exactly equal measure. The old structure is finished either way, so the decision is not whether to preserve it but where to go instead. Begin with extraordinary care: line 1 sets the precious vessel on white mats of rushes, laying foundations almost too carefully — advance where the way opens, retreat at the slightest resistance. When you do brace the load (line 4), keep the motive clean: support gained from others must serve the shared structure, not private advantage, or good fortune turns to humiliation. What you must not do is press obstinately on as the beam gives way (line 3) — refusing counsel, adding strain to a structure already past its limit. When the warnings sag visibly, stop, reassess, and realign before you move again.

Waiting under this hexagram is not passive; it is holding the quiet virtues steady while the strain builds. Under enormous pressure, fear, desire, or anger will try to seize the controls — so cling instead to modesty, balance, patience, independence, and gentleness, and the aid of the higher power stays within reach. If you are stuck, the image gives the temperament: the strength to stand utterly alone without fear, and to renounce what must be renounced without losing joy. There can be renewal from an unlikely quarter — line 2's withered poplar greening at the root, the second spring granted to those modest enough to receive it. But don't force the fresh shoot or reach for quick brightness. Line 5 warns of flowers on a dying tree: display that exhausts the last sap and renews nothing. Choose root over flower.