TOJEONG BIGYEOL · 311
Tojeong Bigyeol Hexagram 311
The sign of raising your hand to fend off an enemy with no boat before the sea
At a glance
- Hexagram
- 311
- Upper · middle · lower
- 3 · 1 · 1
- The year overall
- A year to take care
- Brighter months
- lunar months 2 and 10
- Months to take care
- lunar months 1, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9
Luna Alley's Tojeong readings are for fun and reflection. Read even a difficult hexagram as a guide to how you carry yourself through the year.
The original verse and its meaning
- 拒手敵客 臨海無船
You raise your hands to hold back the advancing enemy, but reaching the sea, there is no boat to cross. - 上下頑怨 無面渡江
Those above and below stubbornly resent each other, so it is hard to hold up your face and cross the river. - 滄浪一水 千里敵盡
Yet a single stream of blue water bars the way, and the enemy a thousand li off finally retreats. - 朱雀南飛 禍起朱門
A red bird flies south, so misfortune may arise within the red gate.
The verses follow the public-domain Tojeong Bigyeol held by the National Library of Korea; the meanings are Luna Alley's own retelling.
The year ahead
Things you must face before you're fully prepared can easily come up. There are also times when superiors and subordinates resent each other and it's hard to hold your head up. So arguments don't flare into great trouble, it's best to avoid dealings with officials and disputes.
This is a year when it's easy to face things before you're ready. The first verse, about raising your hands to hold off the enemy only to find no boat at the sea, describes a situation where your heart races ahead but you lack the tools and people to use. The resentment between above and below in the second verse means hurt feelings easily pile up between superiors and subordinates at home or work. If both sides dig in, no one can hold up their face, so whoever offers a gentle word first wins. The third verse is this reading's hidden light. Just as a single stream holds back an enemy a thousand li away, if you don't force a fight and simply draw clear lines you'll defend, difficulties retreat on their own. The red gate in the last verse points to government offices or positions of power, so be careful that disputes don't spread into paperwork or official matters. It's an unlucky reading, but if you know how to step back rather than collide head-on, you'll get through the year safely.
A word from Master Tojeong
“If there is no boat, do not force your way into the sea. A single stream can hold back an enemy a thousand li away; keep the ground you must keep, and misfortune shall step aside of itself.”
Month by month (summary)
Only a short note and the original verse for each month. Dates are the 2027 lunar months.
- Lunar month 1Feb 7 – Mar 7Care
Work you do step by step on your own can lead to small income. But ventures someone proposes doing together tend to have more holes than they appear.
此月之數 求財可得 與人謀事 必有損害 · This month, if you seek wealth you can gain it, but if you plan affairs together with others, loss easily follows.
- Lunar month 2Mar 8 – Apr 6Bright
This is a month when things go smoothly if you stay where you are rather than venturing out.
在家有吉 動則後悔 來到巽方 貴人指路 · Staying home is auspicious and moving brings regret; a benefactor comes from the southeast and shows you the way.
- Lunar month 3Apr 7 – May 5Care
The light of wealth shines on your road ahead, but gain and loss split depending on whom you follow this month. The old fortune book said to beware of people whose surnames carry Metal energy (in Korean tradition, surnames are classed by the Five Elements), so take that as a warning not to be swept along by others' words.
金姓不利 愼勿追隨 前程亨進 必有財利 · Those with Metal (金) surnames are unfavorable, so do not follow them rashly; yet the road ahead goes well, and there is financial gain.
- Lunar month 4May 6 – Jun 4Care
Around this transition from spring to summer, there's a lot to be careful about in both health and work. Don't readily entrust your true feelings or money to new acquaintances, especially connections from the north.
巳午有厄 宜可愼之 害我者誰 必也北人 · Around the fourth and fifth months there is misfortune, so you must be careful; the one who would harm you is a person from the north.
- Lunar month 5Jun 5 – Jul 3Even
Something may happen this month that suddenly cools a good mood. Check in often on your family elders or those close to you and look after their health.
桃花灯灯 金風忽起 運數不吉 或有素服 · The peach blossoms bloom brightly, but an autumn wind suddenly blows; fortune is uneven, and there may be cause to wear mourning white.
- Lunar month 6Jul 4 – Aug 1Even
Gather your heart and offer sincere devotion, and worries lift this month. You don't have to climb a mountain — walking somewhere quiet and sorting out your thoughts is good.
祈于名山 憂散喜生 災變爲福 吉凶相半 · You offer devotion at a famous mountain, so worries scatter and joy arises; misfortune turns to blessing, and good and bad are half and half.
- Lunar month 7Aug 2 – Aug 31Care
Money isn't much of a worry, but your body tends to tire first this month. If you overdo it at the end of the heat, recovery is slow, so plan your schedule with room to spare.
財數無欠 身病可慮 三秋之數 宜可守分 · There is no flaw in your financial fortune, but illness is a concern, so for the three months of autumn you must keep within your means.
- Lunar month 8Sep 1 – Sep 29Care
Stories promising big money or quick success easily reach your ears this month. The more such talk there is, the more both beginning and end are unfavorable, so let it pass.
勿發虛慾 終始不利 正心不修 百災侵身 · Do not nurse empty greed, for it brings no benefit from beginning to end; if you do not cultivate your heart rightly, all kinds of misfortune seep into you.
- Lunar month 9Sep 30 – Oct 28Care
Ripples arise between spouses, lovers, or business partners this month. Even if something hurts, don't sharpen your words — take time to work it out.
風起水面 元央失敗 戌月之數 愼之疾病 · Wind rises on the water and things go awry, as when the mandarin duck loses its mate; in the ninth month, beware of illness.
- Lunar month 10Oct 29 – Nov 27Bright
Even when things too heavy to handle alone rush in, an unexpected person lends a hand this month. Don't be ashamed to ask for help.
深山小兎 虎群何防 偶逢貴人 助我扶我 · How could a little rabbit in the deep mountains hold off a pack of tigers? Yet by chance you meet a benefactor who helps and supports you.
- Lunar month 11Nov 28 – Dec 27Even
If you hold your place without launching big things, you'll get through without trouble this month. It's a good time to clear out things, habits, or relationships you've held on to for a long time.
守分安居 僅免災禍 去舊生新 一身安泰 · Keep within your means and live at ease, and you barely escape misfortune; cast off the old and the new is born, so your body is at ease.
- Lunar month 12Dec 28 – Jan 26, 2028Even
At the end of the year, paths for money open from many places this month. But kindness shown to close relatives or acquaintances may come back as hurt feelings.
財在四方 大財入手 六親無德 恩反爲仇 · Wealth lies in all four directions and great wealth comes into your hands, but there is no virtue from your kin, so kindness turns into enmity instead.
The nine readings by area (money, love, work, health and more) and the long monthly readings open in the Tojeong Bigyeol app once you find your own hexagram.
Who gets this hexagram?
The hexagram depends on your lunar birth date and the year being read. The upper number comes from your Korean age that year plus the year's taese number, the middle from the length and month number of your birth month that year, and the lower from your birth day plus the day number. So the same person gets a different hexagram each year.
For example, someone born on lunar 3/1/1988 receives this hexagram in 2027.
Find my hexagram
Frequently asked questions
Is Tojeong hexagram 311 a good one?
Hexagram 311 is read as a year that calls for keeping low and holding steady. Things you must face before you're fully prepared can easily come up. There are also times when superiors and subordinates resent each other and it's hard to hold your head up.
Which months need care in hexagram 311?
In hexagram 311, the lower months are lunar months 1, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9. Avoid rushing big decisions then, and go easy on your body and your words.
How do I find my own Tojeong hexagram?
Enter your birth date in the Luna Alley Tojeong Bigyeol page and it converts solar to lunar and works out the hexagram for you. To do it by hand, the 2027 guide shows the formula with an example.