| Name | 颐 Yí, “Nourishment” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☶ 艮 Mountain: stillness and limits |
| Lower trigram | ☳ 震 Thunder: sudden movement |
The Judgment
贞吉，观颐，自求口实。
Stay true — fortune. Observe what nourishes, and what one seeks to fill one's mouth.
What are you feeding yourself — content, food, people, thoughts? Watch closely. You become what you take in.
The Image
山下有雷，颐；君子以慎言语，节饮食。
Thunder beneath the mountain — Nourishment. The wise are careful in their words and moderate in their eating.
Watch what comes out of your mouth and what goes in. Both shape you.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yang
舍尔灵龟，观我朵颐，凶。
You let your magic turtle go and look at me with mouth hanging open. Misfortune.
You had everything you needed and looked at someone else's plate. Envy will eat you alive.
Line 2 · second · Yin
颠颐，拂经于丘颐，征凶。
Turning toward nourishment, deviating from the path. Going to the hill for nourishment. Going on — misfortune.
Asking for support from the wrong places. Climbing to where it isn't. Wastes everything.
Line 3 · third · Yin
拂颐，贞凶，十年勿用，无攸利。
Turning away from nourishment. Stay true — misfortune. For ten years, do not act. Nothing benefits.
Feeding yourself things that drain you. If you don't stop, you'll lose a decade to it.
Line 4 · fourth · Yin
颠颐，吉。虎视眈眈，其欲逐逐，无咎。
Turning toward nourishment. Fortune. A tiger watches with intent gaze, desire after desire. No blame.
Hungry for the right thing, even hungry-hungry — that's fine. Focused appetite is power.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
拂经，居贞吉，不可涉大川。
Deviating from the path. Stay at home — fortune. Not wise to cross the great water.
Off-path right now, so stay close to base. Not a season for big leaps — just stabilize.
Line 6 · top · Yang
由颐，厉吉。利涉大川。
The source of nourishment. Danger — fortune. Wise to cross the great water.
You've become the source others feed from. Heavy responsibility — but it's also when the biggest moves become possible.
Related hexagrams
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 28, Great Preponderance