11 · King Wen sequence
Hexagram 11: Peace
泰 · Tài · upper Earth over lower Heaven
Heaven and earth are in contact, the strong below rising to meet the yielding above, and everything flows.
The reading
Peace is the hexagram of flourishing exchange. Heaven moves upward and earth moves downward, so the two powers meet and mingle instead of drifting apart. In human terms this means the hierarchies soften: leaders listen, the small are heard, resources and ideas circulate. Whatever has been stuck begins to move. It is a season for building bridges, signing agreements, hiring, reconciling, and starting what needs many hands.
But Peace carries its own warning, written into its structure: the firm lines are already rising out of the hexagram, and the yielding lines are coming in. Open seasons do not last. Use this one deliberately. Strengthen what is weak while support is generous, fix what is broken while attention is kind, and store something against the turn. Prosperity handled with foresight becomes lasting; prosperity taken for granted becomes the next standstill.
The image
Heaven's strength rises while earth's softness settles downward, and the two meet in the middle. Where high and low touch, all things grow; the wise complete this movement by keeping every channel open.
While the channel is open, let everything good pass through it.
When you cast this hexagram
- A period when deals close, teams gel, and help arrives easily.
- The right moment to end a feud and make peace.
- Launching a project that needs many people pulling in one direction.
- A market, team, or family season where generosity flows freely.
In love and relationships
In love, Peace is the green light. Communication opens, old grievances soften, and affection circulates the way it did at the start. If you have been distant, this is the time to reach out; the channel is open and your words will land. For new connections, mutual interest flows easily and families approve. Enjoy it fully, but build something durable inside it: shared plans, honest habits, a reserve of goodwill for the seasons when talk is harder.
In work and career
At work, Peace marks a season when everything cooperates: budgets open, colleagues say yes, clients sign, and the hierarchy works with you instead of against you. Advance the big initiatives now, hire the people you need, and settle the disputes that have been draining energy. But keep the structure's warning in mind: this openness is already beginning to turn. Convert today's goodwill into contracts, systems, and savings that will survive the leaner season ahead.
When you have a decision to make
When a real decision is on the table, Peace says the conditions favor a yes. Doors that were closed are open, and people who were distant are willing. Decide now, while cooperation is cheap and goodwill is abundant. But decide for durability, not just for the glow of the moment: choose the option that still works when the season turns. Sign the agreement, start the venture, make the hire, and build the reserves this prosperity makes possible.
The six changing lines
Read only the lines that came up moving in your own cast. If none did, stay with the hexagram as a whole. Each line below links to the hexagram that line turns into.
The wall crumbles back into its moat. Do not raise armies or issue commands from your own city; stubborn persistence now turns to shame.
The one in the high place gives graciously, like a ruler marrying off a daughter below his station. Humility in power brings great good fortune.
Come down from your height without boasting of what you own. Meet your neighbors as equals, and let plain sincerity be the currency.
No plain stays flat forever, and every departure implies a return. Hold steady through the difficulty without grief; sincerity now is blameless.
Embrace what is rough and unfinished, and stay loyal to the distant ones. Cross the river even without a boat; lost friends return.
Rise together, roots entangled with your allies. Advancement now is a group movement, and pulling others up with you brings good fortune.
How it relates to the other hexagrams
These links are derived from the line structure, not from editorial opinion. Flip a line, reverse the stack, or read the inner lines, and you land on a specific neighbour.
Nuclear · 互卦
Lines 2–4 and 3–5 of this hexagram form another one. It is the inner situation — what is really going on underneath what you were asking about.
Complementary · 错卦
Every line flips. This is the exact opposite stance: the position you are not taking, which is often the thing the reading is contrasting you with.
Inverse · 综卦
Turn the whole stack upside down and you get this. The same circumstance seen from the other end — usually the person on the other side of it.
If one line changes
Same upper or lower trigram
Scholar's details
| Number | 11 of 64 |
|---|---|
| Binary (bottom → top) | 111000 (1 = yang, 0 = yin) |
| Upper trigram | ☷ 坤 Kūn — Earth, Earth, Mother |
| Lower trigram | ☰ 乾 Qián — Heaven, Metal, Father |
| Key ideas | harmony, flow, prosperity, openness, timing, union |
Have a question of your own?
This page tells you what the hexagram means. A casting tells you which one you are actually in.