I Ching · King Wen 26 of 64
Hexagram 26 — Great Taming (Dà Chù)
- stored power
- study
- restraint
Mountain (keeping still) over Heaven (creative strength)
Meaning
Great creative power is held and charged like a reservoir. Daily self-renewal and study of the past build force for a major crossing.
Heaven held inside the mountain: the largest force contained by the stillest mass. Unlike the small taming of Hexagram 9, this restraint is charging a reservoir for a named purpose — the text points explicitly toward crossing the great water.
Love & Relationships
Restrained intensity deepens attraction; build trust before release. Intensity postponed is intensity compounded — let anticipation do its slow work. Use the restraint to actually know the person before the force of feeling makes knowing impossible.
Career & Work
Accumulate skills, capital, and allies; a great undertaking approaches. This is the season for the certification, the war chest, the deep study of how your predecessors succeeded and failed. You are not delaying the great undertaking; you are becoming the person who can survive it.
Advice
Tame strength through discipline; feed on ancient wisdom. Hold this counsel lightly but seriously: the I Ching describes the shape of the moment, and Great Taming rewards those who move with that shape rather than against it.
Changing Lines
Changing lines in Great Taming show the taming apparatus at work — the halted wagon, the headboard on the young bull's horns, the gelded boar, and finally the open road of heaven. A moving line reveals whether your power is still being charged or has reached the moment of release.
Cast your own reading
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Hexagram 26 mean?
- Hexagram 26, Great Taming (Dà Chù), is the hexagram of stored power, study, restraint: Great creative power is held and charged like a reservoir.
- What does Hexagram 26 mean for love?
- In love readings, Great Taming counsels: Restrained intensity deepens attraction; build trust before release. Intensity postponed is intensity compounded — let anticipation do its slow work. Use the restraint to actually know the person before the force of feeling makes knowing impossible.
- Is Hexagram 26 a good hexagram?
- In the I Ching no hexagram is simply good or bad — each describes a moment in time and how to meet it well. Great Taming centers on stored power and study, and its outcome depends on following its counsel: Tame strength through discipline; feed on ancient wisdom. Read as guidance rather than a verdict, it points the way to the best available outcome.