Earth above, heaven below: the two great forces move toward each other and meet. Tai is a time of harmony and flow, when communication is open and effort bears fruit. It is a gift to be used well, not taken for granted. Good times are when foundations are built, and the hexagram also reminds you that every peak eventually turns.
Judgment
泰：小往大來，吉亨。
Peace: what is small goes, what is great arrives. Good fortune, success.
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 meet: peace. Taking this as a model, the sovereign shapes and completes the way of heaven and earth, assists what suits them, and so supports the people.
- Harmony and flow
- Open communication
- Prosperity
- Using good times wisely
- Awareness of change
- peace
- harmony
- prosperity
- communication
- growth
- balance
- When things flow, build foundations rather than coast.
- Harmony comes from genuine exchange between different parties.
- Good times are cyclical; stay attentive at the height.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Nine at the beginning 初九
Line text
拔茅茹，以其彙，征吉。
Pulling up reeds, roots come with them in clumps. Marching out: good fortune.
Good times draw capable people together. Advancing with like-minded companions, each bringing others along, leads to success.
- Advancing together
- Mutual support
- Going it alone when allies are available
- Progress carried by a group
Line 2Nine in the second place 九二
Line text
包荒，用馮河，不遐遺，朋亡，得尚于中行。
Making room for the wild; wading across the river; not neglecting the distant; letting cliques fall away. So one is honored on the middle path.
Real leadership in good times means tolerance, courage, attention to what is far away and freedom from cliques. Balance and fairness bring honor.
- Generous leadership
- Fairness without favoritism
- Favoring your own circle
- Earning respect through breadth of mind
Line 3Nine in the third place 九三
Line text
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 that does not slope, no departure without a return. Steadfast in hardship: no blame. Do not grieve over this certainty; there is blessing in the food you eat.
Every high point is followed by change. Remain steady and honest as conditions shift, and enjoy what is good while it lasts without anxiety.
- Inevitability of change
- Steadiness through cycles
- Assuming good times will last forever
- Enjoying the present while preparing for change
Line 4Six in the fourth place 六四
Line text
翩翩不富，以其鄰，不戒以孚。
Fluttering down, not wealthy, together with neighbors. Unguarded, in sincerity.
Those in high places come down to meet others as equals, sincerely and without suspicion. Trust replaces wariness.
- Meeting as equals
- Trust without suspicion
- Relying on status rather than sincerity
- Genuine connection across differences
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
帝乙歸妹，以祉元吉。
The sovereign Di Yi gives his younger sister in marriage. Blessing, and supreme good fortune.
A person of high standing joins with someone lower in rank, modestly and sincerely. Union that sets aside pride brings real happiness.
- Union across rank
- Modesty in high position
- Pride that prevents connection
- A blessed partnership through humility
Line 6Six at the top 上六
Line text
城復于隍，勿用師。自邑告命，貞吝。
The city wall collapses into the moat. Do not send troops. Issue orders only within your own town. Steadfastness: regret.
The period of peace is ending. Fighting the change is useless; tend to what is close to home and accept the turn. Insisting on the old order only brings embarrassment.
- End of a good period
- Accepting decline
- Fighting an unstoppable change
- Preserving what is near and essential
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
In Tai, heaven's energy rises from below and earth's descends from above, so they meet and mingle. This is the image of a society, relationship or project in which those above and below truly communicate, and in which what is weak recedes as what is strong and good advances. The reading may suggest a favorable period in which cooperation comes easily and effort is rewarded.
The image gives the ruler an active role: peace has to be shaped and tended. The lines, especially the third, add a sober note: there is no level without a slope. Peace is a good time to strengthen relationships and structures for when conditions change. In relation to a question, Tai may emphasize openness, generosity and wise use of a good moment.