頤
“Swallowing” — King Wen #27
Nourishment. Watch what you feed — body and mind — and how you feed others.
The Judgment 卦辞
貞吉，觀頤，自求口實。
Yi indicates that with firm correctness there will be good fortune (in what is denoted by it). We must look at what we are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts seek for the proper aliment.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
舍爾靈龜，觀我朵頤，凶。
The first NINE, undivided, (seems to be thus addressed), 'You leave your efficacious tortoise, and look at me till your lower jaw hangs down.' There will be evil.
顛頤；拂經于丘頤，征凶。
The second SIX, divided, shows one looking downwards for nourishment, which is contrary to what is proper; or seeking it from the height (above), advance towards which will lead to evil.
拂頤；貞凶，十年勿用；無攸利。
The third SIX, divided, shows one acting contrary to the method of nourishing. However firm he may be, there will be evil. For ten years let him not take any action, (for) it will not be in any way advantageous.
顛頤，吉；虎視眈眈，其欲逐逐，無咎。
The fourth SIX, divided, shows one looking downwards for (the power to) nourish. There will be good fortune. Looking with a tiger's downward unwavering glare, and with his desire that impels him to spring after spring, he will fall into no error.
拂經；居貞吉，不可涉大川。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows one acting contrary to what is regular and proper; but if he abide in firmness, there will be good fortune. He should not, (however, try to) cross the great stream.
由頤；厲吉，利涉大川。
The sixth NINE, undivided, shows him from whom comes the nourishing. His position is perilous, but there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 27 places thunder (震) beneath mountain (艮) —movement breaking out of stillness below, stillness holding its ground above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Swallowing”:nourishment. Watch what you feed — body and mind — and how you feed others Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 27
What does 頤 (yí) mean?
Hexagram 27 of the I Ching is named 頤 (yí), usually rendered "Swallowing" in English editions. Its figure pairs thunder (震) below with mountain (艮) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 27?
艮 (Mountain) sits above and 震 (Thunder) sits below — the classical picture is movement breaking out of stillness beneath stillness holding its ground.
How is hexagram 27 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 27 gives hexagram 28 — 大過 (Great Exceeding). Turned upside down, the figure is itself — one of the four symmetrical hexagrams. Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 2 — 坤 (Field).
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.