Line 1 Yin
The bird flies upward into danger. When capacity and timing favor a low course, height should not be the aim.
← The 64 hexagrams
HEXAGRAM 62 · Xiǎo Guò
Small Exceeding
When the time supports only small tasks, care and humility matter more than a grand reach.
☳ Above: Zhen · Thunder☶ Below: Gen · Mountain
Meaning
Thunder above the mountain portrays a small excess. The passing bird's call counsels a lower course: extra care, respect, and thrift can serve better than overreaching.
FOR REFLECTION
Which small matter needs careful attention before I consider a larger step?
The six lines
Read from line 1 at the bottom to line 6 at the top. These are paraphrases, not verbatim translations.
Line 2 Yin
Passing the grandfather, one meets the grandmother; before the ruler, a minister. Approach at an appropriate level without overstepping.
Line 3 Yang
Without extra vigilance, someone following may cause harm. Confidence should not erase attention to a nearby danger.
Line 4 Yang
Meeting what fits without overshooting is blameless. Further advance is dangerous; do not make a temporary measure permanent.
Line 5 Yin
Dense western clouds bring no rain; the lord shoots at quarry in a cave. Seek a nearby, specific aim rather than a grand outcome.
Line 6 Yin
Missing the meeting point, one overshoots like a bird entering disaster. Momentum does not define a safe limit.
References
Classical Zhouyi · 小過James Legge, The Yî King (1882), Sacred Books of the East XVI, hexagram 62
Editorial policy & bibliography →For reference and reflection. This commentary makes no certain claim about the future.