TOJEONG BIGYEOL · 642
Tojeong Bigyeol Hexagram 642
The sign of hunting rabbits in the sea and looking for fish in the mountains
At a glance
- Hexagram
- 642
- Upper · middle · lower
- 6 · 4 · 2
- The year overall
- A year to take care
- Brighter months
- lunar month 12
- Months to take care
- lunar months 1, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 11
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
- 捕兎于海 求魚于山
You try to catch a rabbit in the sea and look for fish in the mountains. - 五月霜飛 一人之怨
Frost flying in the fifth lunar month comes from the grievance knotted in one person's heart. - 心浮洞庭 路求湘山
Your heart floats upon Lake Dongting while your feet wander seeking the road to Mount Shang. - 北極失侶 東園寃哭
Having lost your mate at the northern edge, you weep bitterly in the eastern garden.
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 can easily look for answers in all the wrong places. One person's grudge can spread widely, like frost falling in the fifth lunar month. You wander, your heart floating on Lake Dongting while your road seeks Mount Shang, so check your direction again.
This is a year when setting your direction right matters above all. The line about seeking a rabbit in the sea and fish in the mountains is a warning that you may be putting in effort but digging in the wrong place. When things aren't working, rather than pushing harder, first check whether your method and place are right. Frost flying in the fifth lunar month comes from an old tale that one person's injustice can summon a great chill. Watch your words and actions so you don't leave resentment in anyone's heart, and don't let your own hurt pile up for long either. The heart floating on Lake Dongting while the feet seek Mount Shang means your mind and your feet are going separate ways, so gather your heart on a single goal. As the last line about losing a mate and weeping says, parting or loneliness may come, but in the seventh lunar month flowers bloom on a dry tree, and in the twelfth lunar month bad turns to good and you receive a benefactor's help. Hold on carefully and the end is bright.
A word from Master Tojeong
“Rabbits are caught in the mountains and fish in the water; first see your place rightly. Do not take even one person's grievance lightly. The time comes when even a dry tree blooms, so do not let go of your heart until the end.”
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
From the start of the year, it feels like hands and feet aren't working together this month. Don't spend incoming money right away; let it sit for a while.
陰陽不和 歲功不成 財數論之 得而反失 · Yin and yang don't harmonize, so the year's work doesn't come together. If you calculate over wealth, you gain and then lose it again.
- Lunar month 2Mar 8 – Apr 6Even
Your feelings are easily hurt over money matters this month. Keep your accounting exact but your words gentle.
莫與人爭 以財傷心 自南而北 更不如南 · Don't quarrel with others; you'll be hurt over money. Even moving from south to north is no better than the south again.
- Lunar month 3Apr 7 – May 5Even
This is a month when what you thought you had seems to slip from your hands.
捉蟹放水 世事如夢 事不如意 財物不得 · You catch a crab and release it into the water, so the world's affairs are like a dream. Things don't go as you wish and wealth doesn't come into your hands.
- Lunar month 4May 6 – Jun 4Care
This is a month to guard things at home rather than start ventures outside.
莫出路上 狼狽歸家 妄生虛慾 徒費心力 · Don't set out on the road; you'll meet failure and come home. Indulge empty greed and you'll only spend heart and strength in vain.
- Lunar month 5Jun 5 – Jul 3Care
If your preparation falls short, you won't reach however hard you try this month. First fill in what you lack right now.
汲深綆短 勞而無功 預爲度厄 膝下有憂 · A deep well and a short rope, so effort earns no merit. You must ward off trouble in advance; there's worry over your children.
- Lunar month 6Jul 4 – Aug 1Care
You're easily drawn to positions or causes that look impressive on the surface this month. Politely decline things without substance.
動心有悔 居家安常 雖有虛名 不免空手 · With a wavering heart, acting brings regret and staying home brings ease. There may be an empty name, but you won't escape empty hands.
- Lunar month 7Aug 2 – Aug 31Even
Small hope blossoms in a place long dry this month. It isn't plentiful yet, but the flow has begun to change.
枯木生花 吉祥可知 莫恨困苦 先貧後富 · Flowers bloom on a dry tree, so you know good things are coming. Don't lament today's hardship; poor first, plentiful later.
- Lunar month 8Sep 1 – Sep 29Even
Small things gather into great strength this month. Small daily efforts and savings pile up noticeably.
好雨知時 草木繁茂 細流歸海 塵合泰山 · Good rain knows its time and falls, so grass and trees grow lush. Thin streams go to the sea and specks of dust gather into a great mountain.
- Lunar month 9Sep 30 – Oct 28Care
This is a month to look after both your health and your household. Don't push yourself; rest well and check in on your family too.
家運不吉 疾病愼之 初面之人 愼勿同行 · The household's fortune isn't good, so beware of illness. Don't set out on the road together with someone you've just met.
- Lunar month 10Oct 29 – Nov 27Even
It's a lonely month when you feel you have nowhere to lean. Rather than waiting for others' help, quietly do what you can by yourself.
六親無德 四面楚歌 花落無春 蜂蝶不來 · Relatives bring no benefit and it seems enemies are on every side. The flowers have fallen and there's no spring, so the bees and butterflies don't come.
- Lunar month 11Nov 28 – Dec 27Care
It's easy to get caught up in tangled affairs this month. Break complicated matters into simple pieces, and take your hands off what isn't yours to handle.
事有復雜 都無所益 凡事虛荒 徒費心力 · Matters are tangled and complicated, with nothing beneficial at all. Everything is empty and fanciful, so you spend heart and strength in vain.
- Lunar month 12Dec 28 – Jan 26, 2028Bright
A welcome reversal arrives at the end of the year this month. Blocked matters loosen and unexpected income or help comes in.
先凶後吉 事可如意 千萬意外 金姓來助 · Bad first and good later, so things easily go as you wish. Against all expectations, someone with the surname Kim comes to help.
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 6/4/1984 receives this hexagram in 2028.
Find my hexagram
Frequently asked questions
Is Tojeong hexagram 642 a good one?
Hexagram 642 is read as a year that calls for keeping low and holding steady. This is a year when you can easily look for answers in all the wrong places. One person's grudge can spread widely, like frost falling in the fifth lunar month.
Which months need care in hexagram 642?
In hexagram 642, the lower months are lunar months 1, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 11. 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.