62. Xiao Guo | Small Exceeding
Text
English translation
Original Chinese text
小过:亨,利贞。可小事,不可大事。飞鸟遗之音,不宜上,宜下,大吉。
English translation
Xiao Guo / Small Exceeding: Xiaoguo is favorable in a limited way. Small matters are suitable, but great projects are not. A flying omen advises not rising, but descending; this brings great good fortune.
This is the judgment of Xiao Guo (Small Exceeding), setting the overall situation and guiding principle for the whole hexagram. “constancy” means holding to what is correct over time; “auspicious” indicates a favorable direction.
Original Chinese text
初六:飞鸟以凶。
English translation
First Six: A flying-bird sign here is inauspicious and brings danger.
The first line is the lowest position, where a situation is just beginning and its strength is still forming. “misfortune” marks serious risk.
Original Chinese text
六二:过其祖,遇其妣,不及其君,遇其臣,无咎。
English translation
Second Six: One passes beyond the ancestor, meets the mother, does not reach the ruler, and instead encounters a minister. There is no blame.
The second line often suggests a central and emerging position: no longer hidden, but not yet in command. “no blame” means avoiding fault, not necessarily winning great success.
Original Chinese text
九三:弗过防之,从或戕之,凶。
English translation
Third Nine: Do not overstep the boundary to be guarded. If followed, one may be harmed. The result is dangerous.
The third line stands at the end of the lower trigram, where effort and pressure increase and caution becomes important. “misfortune” marks serious risk.
Original Chinese text
九四:无咎,弗过遇之。往厉必戒,勿用永贞。
English translation
Fourth Nine: No blame is noted. Do not overrun what is present. Moving forward is risky, so stay alert and do not hold to rigid, unchanging uprightness.
The fourth line enters the upper trigram and marks a threshold between holding back and advancing. “constancy” means holding to what is correct over time; “no blame” means avoiding fault, not necessarily winning great success; “danger” calls for vigilance.
Original Chinese text
六五:密云不雨,自我西郊。公弋取彼在穴。
English translation
Fifth Six: Dense clouds gather but do not rain near the western outskirts. A bowman captures what is hidden in the burrow.
The fifth line is near the honored position, where influence can be exercised if power remains aligned with what is right. The image should be read as a concrete way of describing the situation before choosing how to act.
Original Chinese text
上六:弗遇过之,飞鸟离之,凶。是谓灾眚。
English translation
Top Six: One does not meet the moment and passes it by. The birds fly away. This is misfortune, a calamity.
The top line is the end of the hexagram's movement, often warning about excess, culmination, or the need to change course. “misfortune” marks serious risk.