Also known as Nourishment, The Corners of the Mouth, Providing Nourishment.
The character 頤 means the jaws or the cheeks. Hexagram 27 is about nourishment in every sense: the food you eat, the words you speak, the ideas you take in and the people you look after. Watch what goes in and what comes out.
The figure
Mountain over Thunder. The figure looks like an open mouth: a solid line at the bottom and at the top for the jaws, with four broken lines between. Thunder below moves, like the lower jaw. The mountain above holds still, like the upper one.
The judgment
Hold, and it goes well. Watch what feeds people, and watch what you put in your own mouth.
You can learn a lot about someone from what they nourish and how they feed themselves. Look at both, in others and in you.
The image
Thunder under the mountain, the jaws working. Watch what you say and go easy on what you eat.
Moderation in words and in appetite. What you say and what you take in both shape you.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. You let go of your own sacred tortoise and stare at me, mouth hanging open. It goes badly. Envying what others have while ignoring what you already hold.
- Line 2. Seeking food from the hilltop, leaving the proper path. Going on goes badly. Depending on the wrong source.
- Line 3. Refusing what would actually feed you. It goes badly. A decade lost. Chasing what never satisfies.
- Line 4. Seeking food from above to feed others. It goes well. Watching keenly, like a tiger with a hunger that never ends, is no fault when it serves people.
- Line 5. Going off the usual path. Holding steady goes well. Don't cross the great water. Lean on wiser help rather than acting alone.
- Line 6, at the top. Others are fed through you. Stay aware of the risk and it goes well. A big crossing is worth making now.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 27 asks what you are feeding. Look at your habits, your inputs and your words, and at whom you look after. Feed what matters, and be careful whom you depend on.