Hexagram 27 · 山雷颐

Nourishment

Earth · Xun palace

What you take in and what you put out; sustain well.

Meaning

Thunder below a mountain: the jaw, in the traditional image. Nourishment concerns what sustains you and what you are responsible for sustaining.

Decision Framework

Attend to what you feed — including yourself.

Decision Guidance

Nourishment directs attention to intake and supply. It appears when the real question is not strategy but maintenance: what you are consuming, what you are providing, and whether either is being done with care.

The hexagram carries a pointed warning about the mouth as a source of trouble: careless speech, poor information, or unrealistic expectations about what will sustain you. Practically, it asks you to examine what actually feeds the situation — attention, resources, honesty — and to stop expecting to draw nourishment from something that cannot give it.

Judgment — Classical Text

贞吉。观颐，自求口实。

EN Perseverance brings good fortune. Observe nourishing, and seek your own sustenance.

The Six Lines — Classical Text

初九：舍尔灵龟，观我朵颐，凶。
EN Initial nine: casting aside your sacred tortoise and eyeing my full jaws — misfortune.
六二：颠颐，拂经，于丘颐，征凶。
EN Six in the second: overturning nourishment, going against the norm, seeking nourishment on the hill — advancing brings misfortune.
六三：拂颐，贞凶。
EN Six in the third: going against nourishment — perseverance brings misfortune.
六四：颠颐，吉。
EN Six in the fourth: overturning nourishment — good fortune; gazing like a tiger, without blame.
六五：拂经，居贞吉。
EN Six in the fifth: going against the norm — remaining steadfast brings good fortune.
上九：由颐，厉吉，利涉大川。
EN Topmost nine: the source of nourishment — danger but good fortune; crossing the great water furthers.

Keywords

I Ching hexagram 27, Nourishment hexagram, Yi hexagram meaning, hexagram for sustainability