Hexagram 27 for decisions: Nourishment

頤 Yí · A decision

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.

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.

Advice: Attend to what you take in and what you give out; feed what is worth feeding.
Warning: Seeking nourishment from the wrong source, or envying another's, leaves you hungry however much you consume.

The changing lines, read for decisions

If your cast of Hexagram 27 had changing lines, these are what each one adds to a decision question, and where each leads.

Line 1 · changes into 23 Splitting Apart
You let your magic tortoise go and look at me with drooping jaws. Misfortune. Stop envying; you have your own sustenance and have let go of it.
Line 2 · changes into 41 Decrease
Turning to the summit for nourishment, deviating from the path to seek it from the hill. Going on brings misfortune. Do not seek support from where it should not come; stand on your own.
Line 3 · changes into 22 Grace
Turning away from nourishment. Persistence brings misfortune. For ten years do not act. What you are consuming is not food; stop, or the drought is long.
Line 4 · changes into 21 Biting Through
Turning to the summit for nourishment brings good fortune. Spying about like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame. Search hard for the help you need to feed those you are responsible for.
Line 5 · changes into 42 Increase
Turning away from the path. Staying persistent brings good fortune. One should not cross the great water. Accept guidance from someone wiser and do not attempt the big crossing yet.
Line 6 · changes into 24 Return
The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers to cross the great water. You are the source; carry it with awareness and you can undertake great things.

Hexagram 27 in full Love & relationships Career Money

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