I Ching Reading

Hexagram 27: Nourishment

頤 · Yí · Mountain over Thunder

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Nourishment (頤, Yí) is hexagram 27 of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching, in the traditional King Wen order. It is made of Mountain (☶) above Thunder (☳).

Meaning of hexagram 27

What you take in, physically, mentally or in what you say, shapes what you become. Look after the source of your nourishment.

Advice

Watch what you consume and what you say, and feed the parts of you that matter.

The two trigrams

Nourishment places ☶ Mountain (Gèn), still, steady and restrained, above ☳ Thunder (Zhèn), arousing, sudden and energetic. The lower trigram is the inner side of the situation and the upper one its outer side.

Hexagram
27. Nourishment
Chinese name
頤 Yí
Upper trigram
☶ Mountain (Gèn)
Lower trigram
☳ Thunder (Zhèn)
Lines
2 yang (solid) and 4 yin (broken)
Place in the sequence
27 of 64 (King Wen order)

The six lines of Nourishment

A hexagram is read from the bottom line up. In a reading, a changing line (a 6 or a 9 in the three-coin method) draws attention to its position.

  1. First line (yang, solid): the beginning. The root of the matter: early stirrings, foundations, and what has not yet shown itself.
  2. Second line (yin, broken): the inner circle. Your immediate surroundings and steady supports: how things work at close range.
  3. Third line (yin, broken): the threshold. A point of tension between inner and outer, often a test or a restless push forward.
  4. Fourth line (yin, broken): the approach. Stepping into wider circles or nearer to authority; caution and good relationships matter here.
  5. Fifth line (yin, broken): the center of power. The place of influence and clear leadership: where the situation is most fully expressed.
  6. Sixth line (yang, solid): the culmination. The far edge of the situation: completion, overreach, or letting go.

Related hexagrams