Hexagram 11 · 地天泰

Peace

Earth · Kun palace

Free flow between above and below: a favourable opening.

Meaning

Earth above, heaven below, which in the I Ching means exchange rather than separation. This is the hexagram of easy movement between parts of a system.

Decision Framework

Use the opening; move while it is open.

Decision Guidance

Peace is one of the genuinely favourable readings. It describes a state where communication flows, effort meets little resistance, and the various parts of a system are working with each other rather than against each other.

The classical caution within this hexagram is subtle: what goes up must come down. Because the phase is good, it is easy to overextend, overpromise, or spend the surplus as though it would last indefinitely. Use the favourable window to do the substantive thing you have been deferring, and build reserves while exchange is cheap.

Judgment — Classical Text

小往大来，吉亨。

EN The small departs, the great arrives — good fortune and success.

The Six Lines — Classical Text

初九：拔茅茹，以其汇，征吉。
EN Initial nine: pull up the grass; it comes with its roots — advancing brings good fortune.
九二：包荒，用冯河，不遐遗。
EN Nine in the second: bear with the crude, cross the river, keep nothing distant unregarded.
九三：无平不陂，无往不复，艰贞无咎。
EN Nine in the third: no plain without a slope, no departure without return; perseverance through hardship brings no blame.
六四：翩翩不富，以其邻，不戒以孚。
EN Six in the fourth: fluttering down, not rich, yet with neighbours — no warning needed, sincerity works.
六五：帝乙归妹，以祉元吉。
EN Six in the fifth: the emperor gives his sister in marriage — blessing and supreme good fortune.
上六：城复于隍，勿用师。
EN Topmost six: the wall falls back into the moat — do not use the army.

Keywords

I Ching hexagram 11, Peace hexagram, Tai hexagram meaning, hexagram for favourable timing