I Ching Hexagram 27: Nourishment

Hexagram 27, Nourishment (Yí, 頤), is the I Ching's picture of what feeds you, and what you feed others. Its old name is the jaw, and the image is thunder at the foot of a mountain, a stir of life beneath something still. If you drew it, the reading is favorable, with a question attached. Where does your nourishment actually come from?

Quick meaning: Hexagram 27, Nourishment (Yí), means looking at what truly feeds you and seeking it by sound means. It advises noticing what you take in and what you give out, keeping your own resources rather than envying someone else's, not overreaching, and carrying any role as someone's source with care.

What hexagram 27 looks like

The old text turns the image into a rule about taking in and giving out: the person of character is careful with words and measured in eating and drinking. This isn't a call to diet or to deny yourself. It points at carelessness, in what you let in and what you let out.

What hexagram 27 means

Nourishment describes a time to look at what feeds you. The Judgment says that perseverance brings good fortune, and tells you to observe the jaws, which means to look at how nourishment works, and to seek your own by sound means. It's not about food alone. The same question applies to company, work, information, and rest.

The lines fall into two halves. The first three describe nourishment gone wrong: setting aside your own resources to envy someone else's, nourishment turned upside down, and going against the way of it. Each of these three ends in misfortune. The last three describe nourishment working: being fed from below, staying put where you are, and being the one through whom others are fed.

What hexagram 27 advises you to do

Look at what actually feeds you. The Judgment's instruction is to observe, and to seek your own nourishment by sound means. Ask what you take in, and what it gives you. This is a hexagram that takes real nourishment seriously. Nothing in it is about dieting or going without.

Don't set your own resources aside to envy someone else's. The first line describes exactly that: you let go of your own spirit-turtle and gaze at someone else's feast. What you already have may be more than you're counting.

Mind the in and the out, and don't overreach. The image's counsel is care with words and a measured way of taking things in. The fifth line adds a limit: stay steadfast where you are, and don't cross the great river. And the sixth line carries the other side: when others are fed through you, it's a weighty position, held with awareness.

Hexagram 27 in love, career, and decisions

In love. Nourishment invites you to look at what a relationship actually feeds in you, and what you feed in it. The Judgment's word is "observe": look honestly at what's nourishing and what isn't, without comparing yourself to someone else's feast (the first line). The image adds care with words: kindness and carefulness in what you say. If you're the one others lean on (the sixth line), it's a weighty role. The line says to hold it with awareness of the danger, and it doesn't say to give until you're empty. It doesn't predict whether a relationship will grow or end, and it doesn't say whether to stay or go.

In career. A favorable hexagram for looking at what feeds your work: your skills, your support, your sources. It favors keeping your own resources rather than envying a competitor's, and seeking what you need by sound means. The fifth line is a caution against a big venture when you're not yet resourced for one, and the sixth is the opposite when you are the source.

For a decision. If you asked "will this nourish me?", Nourishment leans toward look first at what it actually gives you. It's a good sign for deciding with that in mind, and a caution against chasing what someone else seems to have.

Is hexagram 27 good or bad?

The short version: hexagram 27 is favorable, on sound terms. The Judgment gives good fortune to perseverance, and the last three lines are fortunate: fed from below, steadfast at home, and the source of others' nourishment.

Past that, the I Ching isn't dealing in "good" and "bad" cards. Nourishment is honest that how you're fed matters as much as whether, and the first three lines show the ways it can go wrong. So the honest answer is: a favorable hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to look before you reach.

Hexagram 27: yes or no?

The I Ching doesn't give a flat yes or no, but Nourishment's lean is clear: "yes to what truly feeds you; no to envy or overreach." It splits by what you're actually asking:

• Should I look after what feeds me? — yes. The Judgment's whole instruction is to observe and seek your own nourishment.
• Should I chase what someone else has? — no. The first line is misfortune for setting your own resources aside to envy another's.
• Should I take on the big venture? — it depends where you stand. The fifth line says don't cross the great river; the sixth, for the one who is the source, says it's favorable.

The more useful question Nourishment answers isn't only "yes or no?" but "what is this actually feeding?"

How to read hexagram 27 in a reading

If you've cast hexagram 27, start with the situation it describes: a time to look at what feeds you. What are you taking in, and what does it give you? Then look at your changing line — it tells you where in the nourishment you stand: envying another's, turned upside down, going against the grain, fed from below, staying put, or being the source. Finally, the resulting hexagram: the state things tend toward as you seek nourishment soundly.

In short: the primary hexagram sets the situation, the changing lines set the action, and the resulting hexagram sets the direction. For the finer mechanics of weighing one or more changing lines, see how to read changing lines.

The changing lines of hexagram 27

The I Ching is also called the Book of Changes. When your cast includes a changing line (an old yin or old yang), that line shows you where in hexagram 27's nourishment the live tension sits. Read the line you've drawn.

(The wording below is a plain-English paraphrase of the traditional line images, not a strict translation from any single edition. A few archaic phrases, including turtle, hill, and tiger images, are rendered by their underlying meaning.)

• Line 1 — envying another's plate. "You set aside your own spirit-turtle and gaze at me, mouth open — misfortune." In the traditional reading, the turtle stands for the self-sufficiency you already have. What to do: don't put your own resources aside to envy someone else's.
• Line 2 — nourishment turned upside down. "Nourishment turned upside down, against the usual way; looking to the hill for it — going on brings misfortune." Readings differ on exactly what's reversed. What to do: notice where the direction of feeding has flipped, and don't press on that way.
• Line 3 — going against the way. "Going against the way of nourishment; persisting brings misfortune. For ten years, don't act on it; nothing is favorable." The text doesn't spell out what the wrong way is, and "ten years" reads as a long time. What to do: stop pressing a way that isn't feeding you.
• Line 4 — fed from below. "Nourishment from below — fortune; with a tiger's steady gaze, desire pressing on without pause — no fault." What to do: accept support from those beneath or around you, and pursue what you need steadily and plainly.
• Line 5 — staying put. "Going against the usual way; to stay steadfast where you are brings fortune, but don't cross the great river." What to do: hold your ground, and don't take on the big venture yet.
• Line 6 — the source of others' nourishment. "Through him others are fed: danger, yet fortune; favorable to cross the great river." This is a weighty position, and the line says to hold it with awareness of the danger. It doesn't say to give until you're empty. What to do: carry the role with care, and look after your own supply too.

Related hexagrams

• Hexagram 28, Great Exceeding (大過) — the opposite hexagram (every line reversed): where 27 is open in the middle, 28 is heavy in the middle. The traditional sequence follows nourishment with a time of carrying more than usual.
• Hexagram 2, The Receptive (坤) — the nuclear hexagram inside 27: pure receptivity at the heart of nourishment.
• Hexagram 26, Great Accumulating (大畜) — the hexagram just before 27 in the traditional sequence: what is stored up can then be nourished.
• See all 64 in the complete I Ching hexagram guide.

Common mistakes with hexagram 27

• Reading it as a diet or fasting rule. The image says to be measured in eating and drinking, but the point is carelessness, not deprivation. The hexagram is about real nourishment and where you seek it, and nothing in it asks you to go without.
• Reading the second and third lines as accusations. The text says only that nourishment is turned upside down or goes against the way. It names no specific wrongdoing, commentary differs on what it means, and nobody is being singled out.
• Treating the sixth line as a duty to give until empty. The line describes a weighty position, held with awareness of the danger. It doesn't say you should be drained, and it doesn't ask you to neglect your own supply.

FAQ

What does I Ching hexagram 27 mean?Hexagram 27, Nourishment (Yí), means looking at what truly feeds you and seeking it by sound means. It advises noticing what you take in and what you give out, keeping your own resources rather than envying someone else's, not overreaching, and carrying any role as someone's source with care.

Is hexagram 27 good or bad?Favorable, on sound terms. The Judgment gives good fortune to perseverance, and the last three lines are fortunate: fed from below, steadfast at home, and the source of others' nourishment. It's a favorable hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to look before you reach.

What does hexagram 27 mean in love?Usually invites you to look at what a relationship actually feeds in you, and what you feed in it, without comparing it to someone else's. It favors care with words, and it notes that being the one others lean on is a weighty role. It doesn't predict whether a relationship will grow or end.

What if I have a changing line in hexagram 27?The changing line tells you where in the nourishment you are. Line 1 is envying another's plate; line 2 is nourishment turned upside down; line 3 is going against the way; line 4 is being fed from below; line 5 is staying put; line 6 is being the source of others' nourishment.