The Six Relatives
Picture a dinner table with five guests: the one who holds the money, the one who wants to take it, the one who keeps it coming, the one who causes trouble, and the one who won't stop texting. Reading a wealth hexagram starts with knowing who's who — not calculating strength.
← Back to the Liuyao overviewMeet the cast before you read the room
A web, not five strangers
These five don't operate in isolation — they form a loop. Parent feeds Sibling, Sibling feeds Offspring, Offspring feeds Wealth, Wealth feeds Officer, and Officer loops back to feed Parent.
The controlling cycle runs the opposite way: Parent controls Offspring, Officer controls Sibling, Sibling controls Wealth, Wealth controls Parent, Offspring controls Officer.
This isn't trivia to memorize. It's why a long-term wealth reading always checks the Offspring line too (it's the very source feeding Wealth), and why everyone tenses up when Sibling moves — Sibling is the one thing wired to control Wealth.
When wealth is strong and the Offspring line thrives, private and public matters alike turn out well.
That line already names two guests
'Wealth strong, Offspring thriving' means both lines are up at once — Wealth is the money itself, Offspring is the source feeding it. Only when both show up does a reading count as genuinely settled.
If Wealth alone is strong while Offspring sits weak or hidden, the picture looks good for now but isn't built to last.
Five guests, new job descriptions
In a personal wealth reading, these five circle your own wallet. Move to a market hexagram, and the party's the same five people — they've just turned their attention to the market instead.
The question changes too: not 'will I get paid,' but 'what does each of these five forces stand for in the tape.'
Same relative, two very different answers
| Relative | Personal wealth meaning | Market meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Wealth (Qi Cai) | The subject line — the money itself. Not broken, not void, not entombed = there's money; how much depends on strength, whether it reaches you depends on its tie to the self line | Price + capital flow. Single direction — strong means strong |
| Offspring (Zi Sun) | The source — skill, clientele, luck. Strong means the money has roots and holds up long-term | Bulls, upside momentum; Offspring controls Officer, a built-in check on market fear |
| Sibling (Xiong Di) | The rival — competition, drain, lost money. Worst when it sits on the self line or moves strong, though there are exceptions that flip it favorable | Bears, selling pressure; voided or month-broken, it's sealed — showing up isn't the same as striking |
| Parent (Fu Mu) | Controls Offspring, can cut off the source; also contracts, effort, the storefront itself | Two-sided: news, data, the broad tape itself — direction depends on what it changes into |
| Officer (Guan Gui) | Double-edged — career, responsibility, risk, rivals | Two-sided: reins in bears (bullish) or drains Wealth (bearish), depends on the net effect |
Only Parent and Officer are genuinely two-sided. Wealth, Offspring, and Sibling each point one direction — no need to second-guess them.
The hexagram for an April wealth question
Someone asked about their wealth outlook for April. In the cast hexagram, Wealth landed right on the self line — before even checking its strength, that position alone means the money has a direct tie to the querent. A second Wealth line showed up elsewhere too: not just one payment, but another behind it.
Offspring was strong, riding the White Tiger. The Tiger doesn't pick a direction, it just turns up the volume — and since Offspring already points bullish, the reading was: the income source is running hot.
Sibling sat voided, the rival held down, not yet at its release date. The drain risk hadn't gone live.
Put the five together: the front half of the window looked good. Officer hadn't shown its face yet — worth watching once it does.
Naming who's sitting at the table is as far as this piece goes — what you do about each guest is still yours to decide.
A note: a hexagram is a mirror that helps you see where you stand — not a verdict, and never a buy or sell signal. Everything here is framed as "how to read it" and "what to watch for"; none of it is investment advice. Markets carry their own risk, and the decision, with its consequences, stays yours.