Hexagram 27
Nourishment
頤 · 이
Mountain over Thunder
The Judgment
Nourishment concerns both what sustains life and how that sustenance is sought. Steadfast correctness brings good fortune, but appetite alone cannot show the proper way. Observe what a person feeds in themselves, what they give to others, and where they turn for support. The mouth receives food and sends forth speech; both can nourish or injure. Choose what strengthens the true nature, and do not surrender an inward sufficiency for the glitter of another person's portion.
The Image
Thunder moves at the foot of the mountain, suggesting the moving lower jaw beneath the still upper jaw. The noble one therefore watches both entrance and utterance: food and drink are measured, and speech is considered. By guarding this threshold, the nourishment of body and character remains sound.
In the light of the Dao
Desire multiplies mouths that no abundance can fill. Return instead to the simple nourishment appropriate to your nature. Receive enough, speak from stillness, and allow empty intervals between cravings. What truly sustains life often arrives quietly, while the pursuit of excess consumes the strength it promises.
The two trigrams
Upper · outer
☶Mountain
Keeping still · Youngest son
Lower · inner
☳Thunder
Arousing, movement · Eldest son
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line speaks only when it moves — when the cast gives it as 6 or 9.
First line · the beginning · yang, nine
You neglect a precious inward source of sustenance and stare hungrily at another person's food. Such envy brings misfortune because it abandons what is already yours to cultivate. Turn back from comparison and recover the quiet resources you have despised.
Second line · the inner centre · yin, six
The search for nourishment turns away from its proper channels, looking first below and then toward a distant height. Going onward in this manner brings misfortune. Examine the fitness of the relationship before asking another person to carry your needs.
Third line · the threshold · yin, six
Here nourishment itself is pursued perversely: what is taken in undermines the life it should support. Persistence in this course brings misfortune, and a long withdrawal from such conduct is required. No undertaking benefits while the underlying appetite remains disordered.
Fourth line · the minister · yin, six
Seeking nourishment from below is fortunate when the purpose is to sustain a greater responsibility. Watch as intently as a tiger, and pursue the needed support with steady resolve. Such eagerness is blameless when it serves provision rather than private indulgence.
Fifth line · the ruler · yin, six
The usual order of nourishment is reversed, and you must depend upon support beyond your own resources. Remaining steady in your proper place brings good fortune. Do not attempt a great crossing yet; acknowledge the dependence and avoid exceeding your present capacity.
Top line · the end · yang, nine
Others draw their nourishment from you, making your position both fruitful and dangerous. Awareness of this weight brings good fortune. Unlike one who must remain dependent, you may undertake a great crossing, provided care for those sustained by you governs the venture.