Thunder and lightning meet at zenith.
Abundance flowers, then fades.
The Judgment
This hexagram shows the moment when all elements converge in perfect manifestation. Thunder below provides the driving force, while lightning above illuminates with sudden clarity. The result is abundance — not mere accumulation, but the full flowering of possibility into actuality.
Yet abundance carries within itself the seeds of its own transformation. What reaches fullness has nowhere to go but toward change. The wise person recognizes this peak moment for what it is: temporary, magnificent, and requiring a different kind of attention than the long climb that preceded it.
The challenge is not to grasp or extend what cannot be held, but to act decisively while conditions allow. Abundance rewards boldness, but only when that boldness serves something larger than personal gain. In this brief season of plenty, clarity about purpose becomes essential.
The Image
Thunder and lightning come together. The superior man decides legal cases and executes punishments.
Thunder and lightning represent the moment when heaven and earth meet in perfect, undeniable manifestation. There is no ambiguity here, no room for equivocation. The natural forces demonstrate absolute clarity of action.
In human affairs, such moments call for decisive judgment. When conditions are clear and power is available, the superior man does not hesitate or temporize. Justice delayed becomes justice denied. The abundance of the moment must be used to establish what is right, knowing that such decisive clarity may not come again soon.
