Your current situation can be depicted as "Preponderance of the Great" transforming into "Innocence (The Unexpected)".
In front of you lies "Lake" which transforms into "Heaven". That means that joy, pleasure, and attraction are being transformed into strength and creativity. Behind you lies "Wind" which transforms into "Thunder". That means that penetration and following are being transformed into movement, initiative, and action.
The Situation
28. Ta Kuo - Preponderance of the Great Above (in front): Tui - The Joyous (Lake) Below (behind): Sun - The Gentle (Wind)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
This hexagram consists of four strong lines inside and two weak lines outside. When the strong are outside and the weak inside, all is well and there is nothing out of balance, nothing extraordinary in the situation. Here, however, the opposite is the case. The hexagram represents a beam that is thick and heavy in the middle but too weak at the ends. This is a condition that cannot last; it must be changed, must pass, or misfortune will result.
The Judgement for the Current Situation
Preponderance of the Great. The ridgepole sags to the breaking point. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. Success.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
The weight of the great is excessive. The load is too heavy for the strength of the supports. The ridgepole on which the whole roof rests, sags to the breaking point, because its supporting ends are too weak for the load they bear. It is an exceptional time and situation; therefore extraordinary measures are demanded. It is necessary to find a way of transition as quickly as possible, and to take action. This promises success. For although the strong element is in excess, it is in the middle, that is, at the center of gravity, so that a revolution is not to be feared. Nothing is to be achieved by forcible measures. The problem must be solved by gentle penetration to the meaning of the situation (as is suggested by the attribute of the inner trigram, Sun); then the change-over to other conditions will be successful. It demands real superiority; therefore the time when the great preponderates is a momentous time.
The Image for the Current Situation
The lake rises above the trees: The image of Preponderance of the Great. Thus the superior man, when he stands alone, Is unconcerned, And if he has to renounce the world, He is undaunted.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Extraordinary times when the great preponderates are like flood times when the lake rises over the treetops. But such conditions are temporary. The two trigrams indicate the attitude proper to such exceptional times: the symbol of the trigram Sun is the tree, which stands firm even though it stands alone, and the attribute of Tui is joyousness, which remains undaunted even if it must renounce the world.
Interpretation of the Changing Line(s)
Line 1: To spread white rushes underneath. No blame.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
When a man wishes to undertake an enterprise in extraordinary times, he must be extraordinarily cautious, just as when setting a heavy thing down on the floor, one takes care to put rushes under it, so that nothing will break. This caution, though it may seem exaggerated, is not a mistake. Exceptional enterprises cannot succeed unless utmost caution is observed in their beginnings and in the laying of their foundations.
Line 2: A dry poplar sprouts at the root. An older man takes a young wife. Everything furthers.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Wood is near water; hence the image of an old poplar sprouting at the root. This means an extraordinary situation arises when an older man marries a young girl who suits him. Despite the unusualness of the situation, all goes well. From the point of view of politics, the meaning is that in exceptional times one does well to join with the lowly, for this affords a possibility of renewal.
Line 3: The ridgepole sags to the breaking point. Misfortune.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
This indicates a type of man who in times of preponderance of the great insists on pushing ahead. He accepts no advice from others, and therefore they in turn are not willing to lend him support. Because of this the burden grows, until the structure of things bends or breaks. Plunging willfully ahead in times of danger only hastens the catastrophe.
Line 6: One must go through the water. It goes over one's head. Misfortune. No blame.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Here is a situation in which the unusual has reached a climax. One is courageous and wishes to accomplish one's task, no matter what happens. This leads into danger. The water rises over one's head. This is the misfortune. But one incurs no blame in giving up one's life that the good and the right may prevail. There are things that are more important than life.
The Future
25. Wu Wang - Innocence (The Unexpected) Above (in front): Ch'ien - The Creative (Heaven) Below (behind): Chên - The Arousing (Thunder)
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Ch'ien, heaven is above; Chên, movement, is below. The lower trigram Chên is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven. When, in accord with this, movement follows the law of heaven, man is innocent and without guile. His mind is natural and true, unshadowed by reflection or ulterior designs. For wherever conscious purpose is to be seen, there the truth and innocence of nature have been lost. Nature that is not directed by the spirit is not true but degenerate nature. Starting out with the idea of the natural, the train of thought in part goes somewhat further and thus the hexagram includes also the idea of the unintentional or unexpected.
The Judgement for the Future
Innocence. Supreme success. Perseverance furthers. If someone is not as he should be, He has misfortune, And it does not further him To undertake something.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
Man has received from heaven a nature innately good, to guide him in all his movements. By devotion to this divine spirit within himself, he attains an unsullied innocence that leads him to do right with instinctive sureness and without any ulterior thought of reward and personal advantage. This instinctive certainty brings about supreme success and "furthers through perseverance". However, not everything instinctive is nature in this higher sense of the word, but only that which is right and in accord with the will of heaven. Without this quality of rightness, an unreflecting, instinctive way of acting brings only misfortune. Confucius says about this: "He who departs from innocence, what does he come to? Heaven's will and blessing do not go with his deeds. "
The Image for the Future
Under heaven thunder rolls: All things attain the natural state of innocence. Thus the kings of old, Rich in virtue, and in harmony with the time, Fostered and nourished all beings.
Comment by Richard Wilhelm:
In springtime when thunder, life energy, begins to move again under the heavens, everything sprouts and grows, and all beings receive from the creative activity of nature the childlike innocence of their original state. So it is with the good rulers of mankind: drawing on the spiritual wealth at their command, they take care of all forms of life and all forms of culture and do everything to further them, and at the proper time.
28. Ta Kuo - Preponderance of the Great
25. Wu Wang - Innocence (The Unexpected)