Preponderance of the Great in Spirit

Four strong lines are massed in the middle, weak lines at both ends — a beam mighty at the centre and unsupported at its tips, sagging toward the break; the lake has risen over the trees. The load is genuinely too great, yet the Judgment says success, because extraordinary times permit extraordinary action: move, establish a new direction, rather than defend the sagging beam. Under enormous strain the danger is that fear, desire, or anger seize the controls; what holds instead is the cluster of quiet virtues — modesty, balance, patience, independence, gentleness — through which the higher power's aid can be reached and the accumulated energy directed into profound success, penetrating gently and steadily as wood grows rather than forcing explosively. The image supplies the temperament: the strength to stand utterly alone without fear, and to renounce what must be renounced without losing joy.

Line 1 counsels beginning any extraordinary undertaking with almost excessive care — the precious vessel set on white rushes, every detail attended. Learn to tell line 2 from line 5: the dry poplar sprouting from the root is genuine renewal from an unlikely quarter, tended humbly; flowers on the withered tree are display without root, exhausting the last sap — no blame and no praise, but no future. Line 3 warns against pressing obstinately on as the beam gives way: when the warnings sag visibly, stop, assess, and realign your actions with your principles. And line 4 braces the load successfully, on one condition — purity of motive; the moment the bracing is exploited for private advantage, good fortune turns to humiliation.