I Ching · King Wen 27 of 64
Hexagram 27 — Nourishment (Yí)
- nutrition
- words
- self-care
Mountain (keeping still) over Thunder (arousing movement)
Meaning
Pay attention to what you feed—body, mind, and others. Watch your words; what leaves and enters the mouth shapes destiny.
The hexagram is shaped like an open mouth — two firm lips, yielding lines within — and everything passes through it in both directions: food in, words out. Watch both traffics with equal care, for a person is built from what they consume and known by what they say.
Love & Relationships
Nourish each other genuinely; notice what the relationship feeds on. Ask what this relationship eats: attention, novelty, drama, peace? A bond fed on crisis will manufacture crises to stay alive.
Career & Work
Fund and staff what truly sustains; cut junk inputs and idle talk. Audit your inputs — the metrics, meetings, and voices you consume daily shape every decision downstream. Feed the function that feeds everyone else.
Advice
Be discerning in nourishment—tranquil words, wholesome intake. Hold this counsel lightly but seriously: the I Ching describes the shape of the moment, and Nourishment rewards those who move with that shape rather than against it.
Changing Lines
Changing lines in Nourishment contrast true and corrupted feeding — letting your magic tortoise go to gaze hungrily at another's food, or the upper lines' turn toward nourishing others. A moving line asks whom your nourishment currently serves, yourself alone or the wider circle that depends on you.
Cast your own reading
Consulting the I Ching about a real question is different from reading about it. Cast the three coins online, receive your hexagram and changing lines, and see whether Nourishment — or one of its 63 companions — answers you.
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Frequently asked questions
- What does Hexagram 27 mean?
- Hexagram 27, Nourishment (Yí), is the hexagram of nutrition, words, self-care: Pay attention to what you feed—body, mind, and others.
- What does Hexagram 27 mean for love?
- In love readings, Nourishment counsels: Nourish each other genuinely; notice what the relationship feeds on. Ask what this relationship eats: attention, novelty, drama, peace? A bond fed on crisis will manufacture crises to stay alive.
- Is Hexagram 27 a good hexagram?
- In the I Ching no hexagram is simply good or bad — each describes a moment in time and how to meet it well. Nourishment centers on nutrition and words, and its outcome depends on following its counsel: Be discerning in nourishment—tranquil words, wholesome intake. Read as guidance rather than a verdict, it points the way to the best available outcome.