Tai · Peace

The meaning

What the name means Tai is flowing through, peace: above and below in touch, the air moving freely.

The picture Earth above, heaven below: heaven, which should rise, is below, and earth, which should sink, is above, so the two meet and mix.

The sense of the whole The whole hexagram is about things going through. People and matters move smoothly, which is a good time; but in a smooth time it is easiest to slacken, so use it to set the foundation and finish what needs finishing.

In plain words: what this hexagram says

Above and below are in touch, and the air flows. Do not let it make you slack; use the smooth time to lay your foundations.

The upper trigram is Earth and the lower is Heaven: Earth above, Heaven below. When you read it, first picture the two together as a scene, then set it against the original below. The plain words speak only of stance and do not foretell.

The judgement

小往大來，吉，亨。

The image

天地交，泰；後以財成天地之道，輔相天地之宜，以左右民。

The six lines

From the bottom up, the first line is the lowest. When you cast this hexagram and a line is changing, read the matching one. The original is classical Chinese.

1. 初九拔茅茹，以其匯，徵吉。
2. 九二包荒，用馮河，不遐遺，朋亡，得尚於中行。
3. 九三無平不陂，無往不復，艱貞無咎。勿恤其孚，於食有福。
4. 六四翩翩，不富以其鄰，不戒以孚。
5. 六五帝乙歸妹，以祉元吉。
6. 上六城復於隍，勿用師，自邑告命，貞吝。

To learn how to read a hexagram, see "How to read a hexagram"; for changing lines, see "Changing lines and the resulting hexagram".