Nourishment
頤Yi
No. 27 · Mountain over Thunder
Yi (Nourishment)
Yi (Nourishment) is the mouth, and it means feeding. How you feed yourself and others, what you take in and what you say, all need to stay on the right path.
Cast your own hexagramYi (Nourishment) is about how you feed body, people and character, and the key is whether you do it rightly. Look first at what you live on, what you put in your mouth and what comes out of it.
Favorable
- Support yourself on your own skill
- Think before you speak
- Eat and sleep in measure
- Ask people who know
Avoid
- Envying someone else's paycheck
- Living off others without effort
- Overeating and overdrinking
- Saying whatever comes to mind
Work and money
- Job search
- Ask first whether this income can honestly support you; the Judgment says to seek food for your own mouth. Don't jump ship just because someone else earns more. The first line drops its own tortoise to stare at another's jaws, and that is unfavorable.
- Business
- Businesses around food, care and everyday living tend to go relatively well. What matters is being able to feed it: get steady revenue that sustains you first, then think about supporting a team and growing.
- Money
- Cover your basic living costs first and earn honest money. Don't jump into someone else's quick-money scheme out of envy.
Love and people
- Single
- Take care of yourself before looking for someone; leaning on another person to fill an empty space makes it easy to choose wrong. When you meet someone, notice how they talk and how they live. Watching how they nourish themselves tells you a lot.
- In a relationship
- Notice who looks after whom. One person giving for a long time while the other just receives tips the balance. Sort out living costs, chores and time together so neither of you is left hungry.
- Getting back together
- Ask whether you want to go back to be looked after or because you truly want a life together. If it is loneliness or dependence, the third line calls that turning away from right nourishment, and persistence won't help. Chances are slim.
- People and partnerships
- In any partnership, look at how you feed each other: who brings resources and who brings effort should be even. Asking someone junior for advice is no loss of face. The fourth line seeks from below and finds good fortune, focused like a tiger.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Studying is like eating: bite off too much and you can't chew it. The upper jaw stays still while the lower jaw works, so take it in and also chew it. A set amount each day, digested before you add more, beats swallowing it whole.
- Moving and travel
- Moving for work or a livelihood is worth considering, but first check that you can afford the costs in the new place. On the road, eat in moderation so a bad meal doesn't spoil the trip.
- Body and mind
- The Image says to be moderate in eating and drinking: keep food and sleep in measure, cut back on late-night snacks and late nights, and don't swallow every feeling either. If your stomach keeps bothering you, see a doctor.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- This one takes going after it yourself rather than waiting to be fed. Look actively for a way in, and news tends to come gradually. Just sitting and waiting can take a long time.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- This likely involves money or someone's livelihood, or it started with one careless remark. Think before you speak, keep records, and don't add one more angry word in the heat of the moment.
- Lost things and people
- Fair chance of finding it. Look by doors, in wall corners or the corners of cupboards (Gen), or along busy walkways and on the floor (Zhen). Still above, moving below: it is probably stuck somewhere along a path you use often.
Making a decision
If it is right and actually good for you and the people around you, do it. If it is only about saving face or a passing craving, set it down.
If you are…
Yi (Nourishment) asks what you live on. Family support is nothing to be ashamed of, but decide when you will start supporting yourself. Pick up tutoring or a part-time job first and cover part of your own costs.
The top line is everyone depending on you: danger, yet with caution, good fortune, and strong enough for big things. Get the numbers straight and fill in insurance and an emergency fund. Being able to hold steady is what gives you the footing to move forward.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
貞吉。觀頤，自求口實。
Steadfastness brings good fortune. Watch how one nourishes others, and how one seeks food for one's own mouth.
Mountain over Thunder: Gen (Mountain) above, Zhen (Thunder) below, thunder at the foot of the mountain. A yang line at top and bottom with four yin lines between looks like an open mouth: the upper jaw stays still while the lower jaw moves. So it is called Yi (Nourishment), which means feeding.
Nine at the beginning
舍爾靈龜，觀我朵頤，凶。
You set aside your sacred tortoise and watch my working jaws with your mouth watering. Misfortune.
You have your own abilities to rely on, yet you envy how well others eat and earn, and you start chasing what they have. That throws away your own strengths. Turn back and take care of what is yours.
Small Image: 觀我朵頤，亦不足貴也。
Six in the second place
顛頤，拂經，于丘頤，征凶。
Seeking nourishment upside down, from below, goes against the norm. Seeking nourishment from the hill above: going forward brings misfortune.
You can't support yourself yet. Leaning on those below is wrong, and climbing for connections above won't end well either. The priority now is standing on your own, not hunting for a backer.
Small Image: 六二征凶，行失類也。
Six in the third place
拂頤，貞凶，十年勿用，无攸利。
Turning away from the right way of nourishment: even with steadfastness, misfortune. Do not act for ten years. Nothing is favorable.
The way you are trying to feed yourself is wrong at the root, such as filling yourself up through people-pleasing or excess. No amount of persistence fixes that path. Replace it entirely with an honest one.
Small Image: 十年勿用，道大悖也。
Six in the fourth place
顛頤吉，虎視眈眈，其欲逐逐，无咎。
Seeking nourishment from below brings good fortune. Gazing down intently like a tiger, its wants following one after another. No blame.
You are in a senior position but need help from those below. Seeking out capable staff or younger people is the right move. Keep looking with focus and persistence, and it serves everyone.
Small Image: 顛頤之吉，上施光也。
Six in the fifth place
拂經，居貞吉，不可涉大川。
Going against the norm. Staying put and steadfast brings good fortune. One cannot cross the great river.
Your role calls for looking after others, but you lack the strength right now and need to lean on someone more experienced. Cooperate, avoid risky expansion, and hold off on big moves.
Small Image: 居貞之吉，順以從上也。
Nine at the top
由頤，厲吉，利涉大川。
The source of nourishment for all. Danger, yet with caution, good fortune. It pays to cross the great river.
Many people depend on you for their living, and the load is heavy. Keep reminding yourself where the risks are, and you can take on big tasks and make hard calls.
Small Image: 由頤厲吉，大有慶也。
頤貞吉，養正則吉也。觀頤，觀其所養也；自求口實，觀其自養也。天地養萬物，聖人養賢，以及萬民；頤之時大矣哉！
Yi (Nourishment): "steadfastness brings good fortune" means that nourishing rightly brings good fortune. "Watch how one nourishes" means watching whom one nourishes. "Seeking food for one's own mouth" means watching how one nourishes oneself. Heaven and earth nourish all things; the sage nourishes the worthy and, through them, reaches all the people. Great indeed is the timing of Nourishment.
The Image山下有雷，頤；君子以慎言語，節飲食。
Thunder beneath the mountain: this is Yi (Nourishment). The noble person, seeing this, is careful in speech and moderate in eating and drinking.
The Sequence: why it comes here物畜然後可養，故受之以頤；頤者養也。
Da Xu (Great Taming) comes first. Only once things have been stored can they be used to nourish, so Da Xu is followed by Yi (Nourishment). Yi means nourishing.
Miscellaneous Notes漸女歸待男行也，頤養正也，既濟定也。
Yi (Nourishment) means nourishing what is right: feeding yourself and others should both follow the right path. Here the Za Gua runs Jian (Gradual Progress), Yi (Nourishment) and Ji Ji (After Completion) in a row, and Yi has no paired hexagram set against it.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Yi mean for love?
Take care of yourself before looking for someone; leaning on another person to fill an empty space makes it easy to choose wrong. When you meet someone, notice how they talk and how they live. Watching how they nourish themselves tells you a lot. Notice who looks after whom. One person giving for a long time while the other just receives tips the balance. Sort out living costs, chores and time together so neither of you is left hungry.
What does Yi mean for work?
Ask first whether this income can honestly support you; the Judgment says to seek food for your own mouth. Don't jump ship just because someone else earns more. The first line drops its own tortoise to stare at another's jaws, and that is unfavorable. Be clear about where your income really comes from: your skill or other people's favors. Mind what you say, too. One word fewer usually beats one word more.
With Yi, will what I am waiting for come?
This one takes going after it yourself rather than waiting to be fed. Look actively for a way in, and news tends to come gradually. Just sitting and waiting can take a long time.
With Yi, will I find what I lost?
Fair chance of finding it. Look by doors, in wall corners or the corners of cupboards (Gen), or along busy walkways and on the floor (Zhen). Still above, moving below: it is probably stuck somewhere along a path you use often.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.