TOJEONG BIGYEOL · 851
Tojeong Bigyeol Hexagram 851
The sign of worms gnawing from within so that matters won't settle
At a glance
- Hexagram
- 851
- Upper · middle · lower
- 8 · 5 · 1
- The year overall
- A year to take care
- Brighter months
- lunar months 3 and 4
- Months to take care
- lunar months 2, 5 and 6
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
- 蠱食中心 事不安定
Bugs gnaw at the core, so matters cannot settle. - 洛陽城東 何人屹立
East of the city of Luoyang, wondering who stands tall, you hold out alone. - 或去或來 事事多滯
Just as it goes it comes, just as it comes it goes, so every matter has many blockages. - 一踏虎尾 聖名傳拜
Once you get past the peril of treading on a tiger's tail, your upright name spreads and you are looked up to.
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 be shaken from within. There are times you must hold out alone, like a person standing tall east of Luoyang's walls. Things easily go back and forth and get stuck, so be careful not to step on the tiger's tail, and keep your name free of blemish.
This is a year when you're easily shaken from within, so firming up your core is most important. The first line, bugs gnawing at the core, warns that small internal problems, postponed conflicts or habits, shake your affairs more than outward things. Like the person standing alone east of Luoyang, there will be many times you must hold out yourself rather than lean on others. The line about things going back and forth and stalling means the more you rush, the more things tangle, so tie off one thing at a time. The last line, treading on a tiger's tail, holds the hope that even in perilous moments, if you conduct yourself rightly, you'll actually win a name. In the third and fourth lunar months you're reborn, like a leopard becoming a tiger, and money and household good fortune arrive. In the second, fifth and sixth lunar months you may be shaken by disputes, health and romantic issues, so step back. It's a year you get through by being careful, so make it a year of firming your core and next year will be much lighter.
A word from Master Tojeong
“Bugs gnaw a tree from the inside, so look to your own core first. When you must stand alone, stand alone but stand upright. Then even the peril of treading on a tiger's tail will turn into a name.”
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
This is a month to take to heart the principle that what is full must decline. Even if you're busy running around, results may not show well.
日中則仄 月盈則虧 東奔西走 一無成事 · When the sun reaches its height it declines, when the moon is full it wanes; even rushing east and west, not one thing is accomplished.
- Lunar month 2Mar 8 – Apr 6Care
This is a month to step back and hold steady. Work you've long labored over may wobble, so check it in advance and don't rush.
三年經營 歸於水泡 凡事愼之 口舌可畏 · What you've managed for three years turns to foam, so be careful in all things and fear arguments.
- Lunar month 3Apr 7 – May 5Bright
Your energy gradually brightens this month. Blocked matters loosen little by little and good things happen for your spouse or someone close.
吉運漸回 自然富貴 此月之數 妻宮有吉 · Good fortune gradually returns and you naturally become rich and noble; this month's fortune has good luck on your wife's side.
- Lunar month 4May 6 – Jun 4Bright
It's a good month to be reborn. Fix old habits or methods and things go much better.
豹變爲虎 改舊徒新 身數太平 財數興旺 · The leopard transforms into a tiger, fixing the old and following the new; your body is at peace and financial luck flourishes.
- Lunar month 5Jun 5 – Jul 3Care
This is a month to step back and rest. Look after your family's health and cut back on overloaded schedules.
家有不安 疾病不絶 時運不利 安居爲上 · The household is uneasy and illness doesn't cease; the time is unfavorable, so staying at ease is best.
- Lunar month 6Jul 4 – Aug 1Care
Disputes easily arise between people this month. Don't step into others' quarrels and hold back your own words too.
莫近是非 口舌紛紛 勿近女色 到處有害 · Don't go near disputes; arguments swirl, and getting close to romance brings harm wherever you go.
- Lunar month 7Aug 2 – Aug 31Even
It's easy to wait vaguely or look for answers in the wrong places this month. Coolly tell apart what will work from what won't.
守株待兎 緣木求魚 利在何方 必是南方 · Guarding a stump waiting for a rabbit and climbing a tree seeking fish; where is profit? In the south.
- Lunar month 8Sep 1 – Sep 29Even
Good and bad are mixed this month. Big deals in unfamiliar fields or far away may bring losses, so avoid them.
莫渡江水 損財多端 小事不忍 必亂大謀 · Don't cross the river; there's much financial loss, and failing to endure small things throws big plans into disorder.
- Lunar month 9Sep 30 – Oct 28Even
You have the drive, but your body and circumstances won't keep up this month. Rather than forcing a takeoff, rest your wings.
飛鳥羽傷 欲飛不飛 擇地而居 壽福可期 · The flying bird has injured its wings and can't fly though it wants to; choose your ground and stay, and you can count on long life and blessings.
- Lunar month 10Oct 29 – Nov 27Even
Work is slow and takes much effort this month. Your heart may sink, but it's just a passing cloud.
淺水行舟 有勞有苦 日落雲生 心思悽然 · Floating a boat on shallow water brings toil and hardship; the sun sets and clouds rise, so your heart is lonely.
- Lunar month 11Nov 28 – Dec 27Even
A lonely energy surrounds this month. Don't cling too much to results; do the best you can.
草木逢秋 其心悽凉 謀事在人 成事在天 · The plants meet autumn and their hearts are forlorn, but planning lies with people and accomplishing with heaven.
- Lunar month 12Dec 28 – Jan 26, 2028Even
You catch your breath at the year's end this month. Outside work gains some breathing room and there's good news at home too.
外事有餘 內有榮華 驛馬到門 西北移居 · There's ease in outside affairs and glory within; the Yeokma, the star of travel, arrives at your door, so you move to live in the northwest.
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 2/1/1991 receives this hexagram in 2027.
Find my hexagram
Frequently asked questions
Is Tojeong hexagram 851 a good one?
Hexagram 851 is read as a year that calls for keeping low and holding steady. This is a year when you can easily be shaken from within. There are times you must hold out alone, like a person standing tall east of Luoyang's walls.
Which months need care in hexagram 851?
In hexagram 851, the lower months are lunar months 2, 5 and 6. 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.