Hexagram 27 · The Corners of the Mouth
頤 · Yí
The Judgment
The Corners of the Mouth. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with. The shape of the hexagram is an open mouth. Everything depends on what you take in and what you give out, in food, in words, in company, and in thought.
The Image
At the foot of the mountain, thunder: the image of providing nourishment. Thus the superior person is careful of his words and temperate in eating and drinking. His care extends to what he takes in and what he gives out.
Interpretation
This hexagram asks a simple and searching question: what are you feeding yourself? That covers food and sleep, but also the media you consume, the conversations you repeat, the people whose opinions you absorb, and the thoughts you rehearse. Whatever you take in regularly is building you, so choose it deliberately. The same care applies in the other direction, to what comes out of your mouth. Speech is nourishment for other people, and careless words feed them badly. Practically, this is an excellent time to fix your habits: regular meals, real rest, less noise, better company, honest and measured speech. Look also at how you nourish others and whether it is sustainable, since giving from an empty store helps nobody. Watch for envy of what others are being fed. Attend to your own provision, take responsibility for it, and the strength this builds will show up in everything else.
Love
Ask whether this relationship actually nourishes you both, or only feeds a need. Care for each other in practical, daily ways, and be careful what you say; words spoken casually here are eaten and digested. Feed each other well in practice, in attention, and in the ordinary words you use daily.
Career
Look after your health, sleep, and boundaries or your work will suffer. Choose your professional influences carefully. Do not chase someone else's opportunities; provide properly for yourself and mind the quality of your output. Provide properly for yourself instead of chasing whatever opportunity someone else is eating.
Advice
Watch what you take in and what you say, and provide for yourself honestly.
Line by line
You let your magic tortoise go and look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune. You have inner resources and you are envying someone else's plate. Envy wastes what you already possess.
Turning to the summit for nourishment, deviating from the path to seek nourishment from the hill. Continuing to do this brings misfortune. Dependence in the wrong direction leaves you weak.
Turning away from nourishment. Perseverance brings misfortune. Do not act this way for ten years. Nothing serves to further. Chasing gratification that does not actually feed you exhausts everything. Return to what genuinely sustains you instead.
Turning to the summit for provision brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame. Seeking help from above is right when the purpose is to give onward.
Deviating from the path. To remain persevering brings good fortune. One should not cross the great water. Accept help and rely on capable advisers, and do not attempt anything large yet.
The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water. You provide for many, which is heavy responsibility and also great opportunity.