Hexagram 62 Line 6: 上六
Xiao Guo —小過 —Preponderance of the Small
Position: Line 6 (Upper Trigram)上六 —Yin ⚋ (Broken)Register: inauspiciousFamous Line
Classical Chinese Text
上六 弗遇過之。飛鳥離之。凶。是謂災眚。
弗遇過之。飛鳥離之
Wilhelm Translation
He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Commentary
Missing the meeting, exceeding. The flying bird leaves it behind. Misfortune. This is called calamity and disaster. You have flown too high—soaring ambition has carried you beyond what you can attain. A bird that flies too high eventually falls to disaster. The small cannot fulfill the demands of the great; time will pass you by.
When This Line Changes
If Line 6 changes, Hexagram 62 Xiao Guo (Preponderance of the Small) transforms into Hexagram 56 Lu (The Wanderer).
Parent Hexagram
Preponderance of the Small
Xiao Guo小過 (62)
Thunder (震) over Mountain (艮)
Upper Trigram: ☳ Thunder | Lower Trigram: ☶ Mountain