雷山小过Xiǎo Guò · Little Exceeding
震上 · 艮下Thunder over Mountain
卦辞The Judgement
小过：亨，利贞；可小事，不可大事；飞鸟遗之音，不宜上，宜下，大吉。Xiǎo Guò. Prosperous and smooth. Favorable to be steadfast and upright. Small affairs can be done, not great affairs. A flying bird leaves its cry: not appropriate to ascend, appropriate to descend. Great good fortune.
可以做小事，不能做大事。艮山在下属土居东北，震雷在上属木居东方——山上有雷，雷声被山挡住了，传不远。木克土，雷的力量被山削弱——这就是“小过”，不是大错误，是稍微过了一点点。这时不要逞强、不要冒进——做一些低姿态的、谦下的事反而合适。鸟飞低不飞高——能屈能伸，向下为吉。
You can do small things, not great. The lower trigram Gèn is Mountain, element Earth, in the northeast; the upper trigram Zhèn is Thunder, element Wood, in the east — thunder over the mountain, its sound blocked by the mountain and not carrying far. Wood checks Earth, the thunder's force blunted by the mountain — this is “the small exceeding”: not a great error, but a slight overstepping. Now is not the time to push or charge — humble, downward-leaning work is what fits. The bird flies low rather than high — knowing when to bend and when to rise, and going down is auspicious.
大象The Image
《象》曰：山上有雷，小过；君子以行过乎恭，丧过乎哀，用过乎俭。Thunder upon the mountain: the image of Small Excess. The noble one, accordingly, leans toward extra reverence in conduct, extra grief in mourning, and extra thrift in spending.
六爻The Six Lines
初六，飞鸟以凶。The flying bird soars. Misfortune.
鸟飞起来就凶——艮山初爻，山脚——刚冒头就被打，不要轻举妄动，刚冒头就被打。不要轻举妄动。
Take off and meet misfortune — Gèn's Mountain, first line, the mountain's foot — raise your head too soon and it's struck down; don't act rashly — sticking your head up immediately gets it cut down. Do not act rashly.
六二，过其祖，遇其妣；不及其君，遇其臣，无咎。Surpasses her grandfather, meets her grandmother. Does not reach her lord, but meets his servant. No fault.
越过祖父见到祖母（找对人）——艮山居中，山腰——见君主见到了臣子，求助要找合适的层级，见君主见到了臣子（递进）——没事。求助要找合适的层级。
Past the grandfather and to the grandmother (finding the right person), Gèn's Mountain centered, the mountainside — short of the lord, reaching the servant; seek help at the right level — short of the lord and reaching the servant (one notch lower) — no fault. Seek help at the right level.
九三，弗过防之，从或戕之，凶。Without overstepping, guard against it. If followed, may be harmed. Misfortune.
防过头反而被侵害——艮山唯一的阳爻，山最硬——凶，过分谨慎也会出问题，凶。过分谨慎也会出问题。
Over-defending invites injury — the one yang line of Gèn, the hardest of the mountain — over-caution itself becomes a problem — misfortune. Over-caution itself becomes a problem.
九四，无咎，弗过遇之；往厉必戒，勿用，永贞。No fault. Without overstepping, meet instead. Going forward: danger. Must be on guard. Do not act. Be perpetually steadfast and upright.
没有过失——震雷初爻，雷刚响——但不要太过、要遇而合宜，前进危险必须警惕，但不要太过、要遇而合宜。前进危险——必须警惕。不要长久停留。
No fault — Zhèn's Thunder, first line, the thunder just sounded — not by overstepping but by meeting fitly; forward is dangerous, stay on guard — but not by overstepping; rather, by meeting at the right point. Going forward is dangerous — be on guard. Don't stay too long.
六五，密云不雨，自我西郊；公弋取彼在穴。Dense clouds, yet no rain — coming from our western edge. The prince shoots and hits one hiding in its hole.
密云不雨（局势紧张但还未爆发）——震雷居中，雷被云压着——从西郊射猎、有所获，压抑中等待时机能有所收获，从西郊射猎、有所获。在压抑中等待时机的人能有所收获。
Clouds without rain (a state held tight without bursting) — Zhèn's Thunder centered, the thunder pressed under cloud — hunting from the western fields, a catch taken; one who waits patiently in the tense moment gathers something in — yet hunting from the western fields, the catch is taken. The one who waits patiently in the tense moment is the one who gathers in something.
上六，弗遇过之；飞鸟离之，凶，是谓灾眚。Not meeting, going too far. The flying bird falls into the trap. Misfortune. This is called calamity and trouble.
不是相遇而是越过——震雷到极处，雷声散了——飞鸟离群，凶险，是真正的灾难，飞鸟离群——凶险，是真正的灾难。错过该把握的，反而冒进——必凶。
Not meeting but overshooting — Zhèn's Thunder at its extreme, the thunder scattered — the bird flying clear of the flock, true calamity — the flying bird flying into the net — true calamity. To miss what should be grasped and instead lunge ahead — sure to be misfortune.