大有
“Great Possessing” — King Wen #14
Great possessing: abundance held under a strong and humble center. Great resources are governed well.
The Judgment 卦辞
元亨。
Da You indicates that, (under the circumstances which it implies), there will be great progress and success.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
無交害，匪咎；艱則無咎。
In the first NINE, undivided, there is no approach to what is injurious, and there is no error. Let there be a realisation of the difficulty (and danger of the position), and there will be no error (to the end).
大車以載，有攸往，無咎。
In the second NINE, undivided, we have a large waggon with its load. In whatever direction advance is made, there will be no error.
公用亨于天子，小人弗克。
The third NINE, undivided, shows us a feudal prince presenting his offerings to the Son of Heaven. A small man would be unequal (to such a duty).
匪其彭，無咎。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject keeping his great resources under restraint. There will be no error.
厥孚交如，威如，吉。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows the sincerity of its subject reciprocated by that of all the others (represented in the hexagram). Let him display a proper majesty, and there will be good fortune.
自天祐之，吉無不利。
The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject with help accorded to him from Heaven. There will be good fortune, advantage in every respect.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 14 places heaven (乾) beneath fire (离) —creative force pressing upward below, light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Great Possessing”:great possessing: abundance held under a strong and humble center. Great resources are governed well Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 14
What does 大有 (dà yǒu) mean?
Hexagram 14 of the I Ching is named 大有 (dà yǒu), usually rendered "Great Possessing" in English editions. Its figure pairs heaven (乾) below with fire (离) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 14?
离 (Fire) sits above and 乾 (Heaven) sits below — the classical picture is creative force pressing upward beneath light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates.
How is hexagram 14 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 14 gives hexagram 8 — 比 (Grouping). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 13 — 同人 (Concording People). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 43 — 夬 (Displacement).
Ask your own question
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.