Peace
泰Tai
No. 11 · Earth over Heaven
Tai (Peace)
Heaven and earth meet and everything flows between top and bottom. It is the smoothest of times, with a reminder that good times turn, so the better things go, the more you should prepare.
Cast your own hexagramTai (Peace) is a smooth, open hexagram. Communication flows between levels and cooperation comes easily. Tai also says good times don't last forever. The better things are, the more it pays to strengthen the foundations and get ready for the turn.
Favorable
- Settle big matters while it flows
- Open up lines of communication
- Build the systems now
- Keep a way back
Avoid
- Treating good times as normal
- Looking after only your own people
- Overexpanding at the peak
Work and money
- Job search
- In Tai (Peace) heaven and earth meet, so the people above actually listen. Applications, interviews and internal moves tend to connect easily. While your manager is receptive, say clearly what you want and negotiate, but don't assume it will stay this easy.
- Business
- The Judgment says the small departs and the great arrives: small input, big return, and deals tend to close easily. Lock in contracts and processes while it is smooth. Fix the wall in good weather; waiting for the top line's wall to fall into the moat is too late.
- Money
- Income and opportunities lean favorable, so you can commit according to plan. Keep part aside as a cushion and don't treat a good run as normal.
Love and people
- Single
- Feelings connect easily, and replies may come faster than you expect. Like the first line's grass coming up root by root, introductions through friends tend to lead to more introductions. Don't rely on swiping alone.
- In a relationship
- High and low meet and your aims line up. A good time to talk about moving in, getting married or buying a place. Keep talking even when it is going well; Tai (Peace) carries the third line's reminder that after level ground comes a slope.
- Getting back together
- The mood is warming and they are willing to hear you out. A good time to reach out. Be clear about where it got stuck last time and what changes now, because nostalgia alone won't carry you through the next turn.
- People and partnerships
- People at every level want to work together, so partnerships and teams come together smoothly. The second line asks you to make room for rough edges and remember those far away. Looking after only your own circle breaks the flow.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Your direction is right and effort tends to pay back. A good time to sign up, apply and push ahead. While your scores are good, shore up your weakest subject instead of finding the gaps on the way down.
- Moving and travel
- Travel and moving both tend to go smoothly, with paperwork and connections falling into place. Heading toward family or friends is especially good; wherever you land, someone has your back.
- Body and mind
- Overall things feel good and you are more relaxed. Because it is going well, late nights and overindulging creep in, so protect your routine. If you are feeling unwell, get it checked by a doctor.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Likely to come, and not slowly; in Tai (Peace) the great is on its way in. Use the wait to get ready to receive it, so you can handle it when it lands.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- There is still room to talk, and negotiating tends to beat going to court. Settle the terms while the other side is willing to sit down; if it drags on, the situation can shift.
- Lost things and people
- Likely to turn up. With Kun (Earth) above and Qian (Heaven) below, look low among fabric and piles of clothes, or up high beside round containers. Asking the people you live with or see often may help too.
Making a decision
Go ahead; the timing is good. At the same time, work out your way back in case things turn.
If you are…
Work is coming in and leadership has your back: this is Tai (Peace). While everyone is aligned, set the delivery process and who does what, and start training someone to step in. Patching it once you are swamped is repairing the wall after it has fallen into the moat.
The families get along and your ideas match, so the next step makes sense. Lay out how you will handle money and where you will live now. It is far easier to talk while things are good than in the middle of an argument.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
小往大來，吉亨。
The small departs, the great arrives. Good fortune and success.
Earth over Heaven: Kun (Earth) above, Qian (Heaven) below. Heaven's energy rises and earth's sinks, so the two meet in the middle and everything can move freely. That free flow is Tai (Peace). Yang sits inside and yin outside: the strong core within, the weaker part on the outer edge.
Nine at the beginning
拔茅茹以其彙，征吉。
Pulling up couch grass, the roots come up together, each with its kind. Going forward brings good fortune.
Conditions are good, and you are surrounded by people who share your aims. This is the moment to act together: bring in partners, build the team and reach outward.
Small Image: 拔茅征吉，志在外也。
Nine in the second place
包荒。用馮河，不遐遺；朋亡。得尚于中行。
Bearing with the rough and uncultivated; resolute enough to wade across a river; not neglecting those far away; forming no cliques. In this way you match the middle path.
You are leading or pulling people together. Make room for all kinds, decide when it is time, remember the people who aren't in the room, and don't just look after your own circle. Those four are what make a fair leader.
Small Image: 包荒，得尚于中行，以光大也。
Nine in the third place
无平不陂，无往不復，艱貞无咎。勿恤其孚，于食有福。
There is no level ground without a slope, no going without a return. Steadfast in hardship, no blame. Do not worry about your sincerity being let down; there is blessing in your livelihood.
The good stretch is halfway through, and it is time to expect a turn. While things are still fine, shore up weak spots and hold to your principles. Even if it gets harder later, you can come through intact, and the line says what you have earned still arrives.
Small Image: 无往不復，天地際也。
Six in the fourth place
翩翩，不富以其鄰；不戒以孚。
Fluttering down, not relying on wealth, it brings its neighbors along; without being warned, they trust one another.
Relationships are easy right now; people fall in quickly and nobody is guarded. Zhu Xi warns that this can also be the petty crowd drifting in together, so when things are warm, look closely at who is really on your side.
Small Image: 翩翩不富，皆失實也。不戒以孚，中心願也。
Six in the fifth place
帝乙歸妹，以祉，元吉。
Emperor Yi gives his younger sister in marriage. Through this comes blessing. Great good fortune.
You hold a high position, yet you are willing to lower yourself to cooperate and help others succeed. Setting aside your status in a partnership or relationship tends to bring you the greatest benefit.
Small Image: 以祉，元吉。中以行願也。
Six at the top
城復于隍，勿用師，自邑告命，貞吝。
The city wall falls back into the moat. Do not use the army. Issue commands only within your own town. Even with steadfastness, humiliation.
The good times have peaked and the structure is loosening. Don't fight outside battles or expand now; put your own house in order first. Letting it slide is where the embarrassment comes from. Face the facts and pull back early.
Small Image: 城復于隍，其命亂也。
泰，小往大來，吉亨。則是天地交而萬物通也，上下交而其志同也。內陽而外陰，內健而外順，內君子而外小人，君子道長，小人道消也。
Tai (Peace): the small departs, the great arrives, good fortune and success. This is heaven and earth in union, so all things flow freely; high and low are in union, so their aims are one. Yang is within and yin without; strong within, yielding without. The noble person is within and the petty person without. The way of the noble person grows, and the way of the petty person fades.
The Image天地交，泰；后以財成天地之道，輔相天地之宜，以左右民。
Heaven and earth in union: this is Tai (Peace). The ruler, seeing this, shapes and regulates the course of heaven and earth, assists what heaven and earth make fitting, and so supports the people.
The Sequence: why it comes here履而泰，然後安，故受之以泰；泰者通也。
Lü (Treading) means moving forward with order and proper conduct. Walking that way brings stability, and stability brings flow, so Lü is followed by Tai (Peace). Tai means flowing through.
Miscellaneous Notes否、泰，反其類也。
Pi (Standstill) and Tai (Peace) are opposite kinds. In Tai, heaven and earth meet and high and low connect; in Pi they do not meet and are cut off. The two hexagrams are each other flipped upside down, and their situations are reversed too.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Tai mean for love?
Feelings connect easily, and replies may come faster than you expect. Like the first line's grass coming up root by root, introductions through friends tend to lead to more introductions. Don't rely on swiping alone. High and low meet and your aims line up. A good time to talk about moving in, getting married or buying a place. Keep talking even when it is going well; Tai (Peace) carries the third line's reminder that after level ground comes a slope.
What does Tai mean for work?
In Tai (Peace) heaven and earth meet, so the people above actually listen. Applications, interviews and internal moves tend to connect easily. While your manager is receptive, say clearly what you want and negotiate, but don't assume it will stay this easy. Communication is open and resources are in place. A good time to push collaborations and bring the team together. Use the momentum to build the systems and groundwork you will need.
With Tai, will what I am waiting for come?
Likely to come, and not slowly; in Tai (Peace) the great is on its way in. Use the wait to get ready to receive it, so you can handle it when it lands.
With Tai, will I find what I lost?
Likely to turn up. With Kun (Earth) above and Qian (Heaven) below, look low among fabric and piles of clothes, or up high beside round containers. Asking the people you live with or see often may help too.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.