Hexagram 27 changing to 41: Nourishment to Decrease

Where it starts: 27 Nourishment

What you feed, and what feeds you: attention to nourishment, of the body, the mind and others. Thunder below, mountain above: the hexagram's shape is an open mouth, two firm lines enclosing four yielding ones. Nourishment asks a simple question that runs in both directions: what are you taking in, and what are you giving out? The tradition's judgement says to pay attention to what you nourish and to what you seek to fill your mouth with, and the image adds care in words and moderation in food. The reading is about sustenance in the widest sense: diet, information, company, the people you support and those who support you. Its favourability depends on the quality of what is being fed.

Where it goes: 41 Decrease

Less at the base to strengthen the top: a season of reduction that is fortunate when done with sincerity. Lake below, mountain above: the lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its depth to the mountain's height. Decrease describes reduction: of resources, of expenditure, of passion, of what is below in order to serve what is above. The tradition's judgement is that decrease combined with sincerity brings supreme good fortune, and it offers the image of two small bowls used for a sacrifice when nothing grander is available. Simplicity, when it is honest, is enough. The image adds the inner work: the wise person controls anger and restrains instincts. The reading says the time asks for less, and that less done sincerely is a form of increase.

The lines that move

1. Line 2

   Turning to the summit for nourishment, deviating from the path to seek it from the hill. Going on brings misfortune.

   Looking for support in the wrong places, from those who should not be asked, out of a failure to stand on one's own feet. The line calls it a deviation and warns of the result. Do not seek support from where it should not come; stand on your own.

What is changing. The situation of Nourishment is moving toward Decrease. Attend to what you take in and what you give out; feed what is worth feeding. As the change completes: Reduce what is excess, offer what you have with sincerity, and restrain anger and impulse.

love and relationships

Now: Ask what each of you feeds the other: attention, kindness, honest speech, or the opposite. The reading asks you to look at the diet of the relationship, and to be careful with words, which nourish or poison more than anything. Then: Less: fewer demands, less passion spent on argument, simpler gestures. The reading favours giving something up for the sake of the relationship, done sincerely. Two small bowls, honestly offered, over an elaborate show.

career

Now: What sustains you at work, and what you are sustaining. Feed your competence with real learning, not gossip; support the people who depend on you properly. The reading warns against seeking nourishment from the wrong source. Then: A leaner time. Cut what is excess, simplify, and serve the larger purpose with what remains. The reading warns against faking abundance and rewards honest economy. Restrain the temper; it is the costliest excess.

money

Now: Money as sustenance, not display. Spend on what feeds you and yours, be moderate, and be wary of dependence on a source that does not deserve trust. Look at what your money is feeding. Then: Reduce. Spend less, simplify, and treat the reduction as a discipline rather than a loss. Decrease done sincerely, the reading promises, is greatly fortunate. Do not pretend to more than you have.

decisions

Now: Decide by asking what the option will nourish. The choice that feeds something worthwhile, in you or in others, is the right one; the one that only fills the mouth is not. Then: Choose the option that costs less and demands more restraint. If it involves giving something up, give it up sincerely and without resentment. The reading is against the lavish choice.