Tai :: Great

The small departs: the great approaches i: Auspicious: offering

泰

䷊

6 :: first

Pulling up the clumped mao grass¹ by its roots.

Remember that your fate is not only personal but also collective. You are linked to all beings. True sincerity makes even a humble gesture great.

9 :: second

Make a humble offering and ford the wide river in good company.
It is auspicious to be balanced.

Go forward into the future, but don't neglect the past and its obligations. In becoming great, do not forget your humble beginnings. Do not forget your obligations to the supportive friends who, like rafts, carried you across a river of difficulties.

6 :: third

There is no plain without slopes. There is hardship, but no misfortune.
Going out, you will come back to good food. Auspicious.

Return is your reward. You see the horizon (conclusion) of your journey to greatness. With this vision, you can accept all the ups and downs (setbacks) as merely a part of your progress. You can now see that your journey out has actually been a return home. Celebrate with a homecoming banquet.

9 :: fourth

Flutter, flutter.² Not sharing with associates. Confusion.

You are confused and in flux. You are finding it difficult to interpret the omen. You lose focus and support due to uncertainty. Let others help you.

9 :: fifth

Di Yi³ arranges a marriage. Happiness follows. Auspicious.

Resolution brought about by marriage or partnership is powerful. In a marriage arranged between enemy families, the birth of a single male heir secures a peaceful future for all. Ending enmity brings about great clarity and prosperity.

6 :: top

City walls crumble into the moat. Do not use military force.
Wait to hear from the capital. Great distress.

Sit still and wait for inspiration from within. Even great cities eventually lay in ruin. Even the most moving inspirations fade (new mandate from capital). Whatever we accumulate is eventually lost. It is fruitless to struggle (military force) against change.

Image

Tai means great, peaceful, circular, expansive, and prosperous and is the name assigned to the mountain at the center of the early Chinese cosmology-Taishan. It is about how all things flourish due to the ponderous synergy of Heaven and Earth. In Tai the image of change is that of the grand circle of creation and decay in which everything naturally rises, flourishes, and declines.

Auspices

Tai is favorable for going forward and expanding. When Tai is divined natural growth is inevitable-all plans succeed, if you do not push or rush them. Do not over analyze the situation. Recognize that things unfold by themselves.

Good for distant travel, financial matters, marriage, and expansion of all kinds.

Bad for detailed review, planning, and postponement.

Comment

Tai is about the cyclical growth of what is small into what is great. It reiterates a central wisdom of the Zhouyi, that collective effort and alliance are factors in every true success. In this case, cooperation defines greatness.

It also reminds us that to realize our dreams and accomplish greatness leads us to an inevitable collapse, a return to simplicity, and the renewal of inspiration. The great are advised to remember their starting point because the cycles of change will take them back there in the end. Great is the continuity of the ancestors that we inevitably join.

Other Correspondences

Business: Starting a new business, expansion, mergers, acquisitions, and spending.

Disharmonies: Contagious diseases and wind disorders.

Prognosis: Very good. The patient follows the physician's advice and easily stabilizes.