TOJEONG BIGYEOL · 343
Tojeong Bigyeol Hexagram 343
The sign of rushing in all directions, wandering mountain trails and waterways
At a glance
- Hexagram
- 343
- Upper · middle · lower
- 3 · 4 · 3
- The year overall
- An even year
- Brighter months
- lunar months 2 and 5
- Months to take care
- lunar month 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
- 驅馳四方 山程水程
Galloping your horse in all four directions, you wander mountain paths and waterways. - 雪裡求筍 誰知其苦
You seek bamboo shoots in the snow — who knows that hardship? - 破屋重修 晩時生光
You repair the broken house once more, and only late does it shine. - 凍鱗出海 不遠千里
The frozen fish heads out to sea, and does not call even a thousand li far.
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
This is a year when you're kept busy and go through a lot of hardship. You may wonder who will ever recognize the trouble of searching for bamboo shoots in the snow, but just as a crumbling house shines late once it's repaired, the reward comes in the end. The way opens in faraway places, like frozen fish heading out to sea.
This is a year when you're physically busy with a lot of toil. As in the first verse, there will be lots of running here and there over mountain paths and waterways. The bamboo shoots in the snow of the second verse, like the old story of the filial son who sought bamboo shoots in midwinter, stand for devotion and toil that others don't recognize. But that devotion isn't in vain. As in the third verse, if you fix things step by step like repairing a crumbled house, it shines, even if late. The last verse is a promise that, as the frozen fish heads out to sea, once tied-up matters loosen, a path opens far away. There's welcome energy in the second and fifth months, and at year's end your plans for money come to pass. If you're just careful about long trips in the ninth month and household storms in the eleventh, you'll reap rewards in proportion to your toil this year.
A word from Master Tojeong
“The toil of seeking bamboo shoots in the snow is known first to heaven. Even a crumbled house, once mended, shines late — so go on quietly.”
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 7Even
The first month of the new year is a month when your view easily narrows. Don't stick only to familiar ways — open your ears to new information and people.
井底之蛙 所見不廣 山路走馬 路險困苦 · A frog at the bottom of a well, your view is not wide; galloping a horse on a mountain path, the road is rough and toilsome.
- Lunar month 2Mar 8 – Apr 6Bright
It's a month of bright energy. After much deliberation, you may gain unexpected money on the way back.
排徊仰天 回路得財 謀事然後 成功可望 · Pacing about gazing up at heaven, you gain wealth on the way back; only after planning your affairs can you hope for success.
- Lunar month 3Apr 7 – May 5Even
It's easy to feel lonely and empty this month. All the more, don't readily lean on or get swept up by others' words.
千里他鄕 孤獨單身 莫信人言 事多蒼慌 · Alone in a strange land a thousand li away; do not trust others' words, for affairs are many and flustered.
- Lunar month 4May 6 – Jun 4Even
The way ahead is cloudy and it's hard to find direction this month. Postpone big decisions and gather more information.
日入黑雲 東西不辨 身運不吉 採薪可畏 · The sun goes into dark clouds and you cannot tell east from west; your bodily fortune is inauspicious, so even going to gather firewood is to be feared.
- Lunar month 5Jun 5 – Jul 3Bright
Welcome things await this month. Gather your heart and offer devotion, and good energy follows.
吉日兩辰 虔誠祈福 利在何姓 必有水姓 · On a good day at a good hour you sincerely pray for blessings; with which surname does profit lie? With the Water (水) surnames.
- Lunar month 6Jul 4 – Aug 1Even
It's a good month when you compose yourself and live calmly. A benefactor appears from the east to help, and profit arises from matters connected to the south.
入山修道 可謂神仙 貴人在東 利在南方 · You enter the mountains to cultivate the Way and could be called an immortal; your benefactor is in the east and profit is in the south.
- Lunar month 7Aug 2 – Aug 31Even
Things may go awry because of the people you work with this month. Check important matters yourself and make responsibilities clear.
此月之數 因人敗事 事多有魔 莫作遠行 · This month affairs go wrong because of people, and there are many demonic obstacles, so do not set out on long journeys.
- Lunar month 8Sep 1 – Sep 29Even
Choose your company carefully and good things come this month. Be careful about deals or partnerships with people whose surnames carry Fire energy.
害在何姓 必有火姓 東西兩方 必有吉祥 · With which surname does harm lie? The Fire (火) surnames; yet in the two directions of east and west, there may be good omens.
- Lunar month 9Sep 30 – Oct 28Care
This is a month when keeping your place is better than setting out far.
遠行不利 不如安分 喜憂相雜 半吉半凶 · Long journeys are unfavorable, so nothing is better than keeping within your means; joy and worry are mixed, half good and half ill.
- Lunar month 10Oct 29 – Nov 27Even
Your heart grows lonely and longing deepens this month. Thinking of home and family, your heart may weaken.
秋月三更 思家自嘆 事不如意 守舊安常 · Deep on an autumn-moon night, you think of home and sigh to yourself; if things do not go as you wish, keep to the old and maintain the usual.
- Lunar month 11Nov 28 – Dec 27Even
Small quarrels at home tend to continue this month. Acknowledge each other's efforts first and the storms will calm.
家庭不和 風波不息 每事不成 守分第一 · The household is not in harmony and the storms do not cease; no matter is accomplished, so keeping within your means is best.
- Lunar month 12Dec 28 – Jan 26, 2028Even
Money matters come to pass at the end of the year this month. What you planned bears fruit, so receive it gladly.
丑月之數 財謀成就 捨近取遠 勞而無功 · The fortune of the twelfth month: your plans for wealth come to pass, but if you abandon the near to take the far, you toil without merit.
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.
By the formula, nobody receives this hexagram in 2027. Lunar month lengths and cycles change each year, so it does turn up in other years. For example, someone born on lunar 6/2/1987 receives this hexagram in 2028.
Find my hexagram
Frequently asked questions
Is Tojeong hexagram 343 a good one?
Hexagram 343 is read as an even year, with good and hard months mixed. This is a year when you're kept busy and go through a lot of hardship. You may wonder who will ever recognize the trouble of searching for bamboo shoots in the snow, but just as a crumbling house shines late once it's repaired, the reward comes in the end.
Which months need care in hexagram 343?
In hexagram 343, the lower months are lunar month 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.