Hexagram 27 of 64
頤
Nourishment
Yí
Upper Trigram
艮
Mountain
Keeping Still, Resting
Mountain · Youngest Son
Lower Trigram
震
Thunder
Arousing, Movement
Thunder · Eldest Son
The Judgment
Nourishment. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a person seeks to fill their own mouth with.
What we take in — food, thoughts, words, relationships — shapes who we become. The hexagram asks us to be discriminating about what we nourish ourselves and others with. The still mountain over arousing thunder: choose stillness in what you take in.
The Image
At the foot of the mountain, thunder — the image of Providing Nourishment. Thus the superior person is careful of their words and temperate in eating and drinking.
The two most direct ways we take the world into ourselves are through food and through speech. Careful, mindful attention to both is the practice of self-nourishment.
The Six Lines
Line 1
You let your magic tortoise go, and look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.
Ignoring one's own inner wisdom to envy others' circumstances is both foolish and self-defeating.
Line 2
Turning to the summit for nourishment, deviating from the path to seek nourishment from the hill. Continuing to do this brings misfortune.
Looking upward for nourishment instead of generating it from within is a deviation that, if persisted in, leads to emptiness.
Line 3
Turning away from nourishment. Perseverance brings misfortune. Do not act thus for ten years. Nothing serves to further.
Seeking nourishment in what truly cannot nourish — pleasure, distraction, flattery — is dangerous. Abandon this path.
Line 4
Turning to the summit for provision of nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Seeking nourishment from the highest sources — great teachings, great souls — with an alert, eager mind is entirely right.
Line 5
Turning away from the path. To remain persevering brings good fortune. One should not cross the great water.
Aware of one's own limitations, one accepts guidance from above and does not overreach. Humility in what one can provide is wise.
Line 6
The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers to cross the great water.
One who has become a true source of nourishment for others carries great responsibility and great potential. Awareness of the weight of this brings good fortune.
For contemplation and self-reflection only. Not a substitute for professional advice.