Hexagram 27 Yi - Complete Guide Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Nourishment in Practice
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BY NICOLE LAU
Hexagram 27 Yi - Complete Guide Part 3: Divination Guide — How to Read Nourishment in Practice
Yi is one of the most intimate hexagrams to receive in a reading because it asks the most fundamental question: what are you nourishing yourself with, and what are you nourishing others with? This guide gives you the practical framework for reading Yi accurately in any divination context.
What Yi Is Actually Telling You
The core message of Yi in any reading: pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what you seek to fill your own mouth with. Be careful about your words and temperate in eating and drinking. We become what we nourish ourselves with. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Questions Yi Answers Best
- Self-care: Am I nourishing myself genuinely? — What are you nourishing yourself with — food, drink, words, ideas, relationships? Is it genuine nourishment or the wrong nourishment?
- Speech: Am I being careful about my words? — The superior man is careful about his words. What are you giving out through your words?
- Relationships: Are my relationships genuinely nourishing? — Both what you receive from them and what you give to them.
- Leadership: Am I genuinely nourishing those in my care? — Line 6: the source of nourishment. The genuine leader is the source of genuine nourishment for all beings in their care.
- Health: What is the source of this difficulty? — Lines 1-3: abandoning the sacred tortoise, seeking from the wrong source, turning away from nourishment.
- Envy: Why am I envying others? — Line 1: the person who envies the external nourishment of others has abandoned their own genuine inner nourishment.
What Yi Is Not Saying
- Yi does not mean physical food only. The nourishment of Yi is both physical and spiritual — food, drink, words, ideas, relationships, inner virtue.
- Yi does not mean self-indulgence. Temperate in eating and drinking: genuine nourishment is temperate, not indulgent.
- Yi does not mean isolation. Line 6's source of nourishment: the supreme expression of Yi is nourishing others from the hilltop.
Reading Yi Without Moving Lines
- Pay heed to the providing of nourishment — what are you nourishing yourself with?
- Be careful about your words — what are you giving out through your words?
- Be temperate in eating and drinking — genuine nourishment is temperate
- Perseverance brings good fortune — genuine nourishment requires genuine perseverance
- We become what we nourish ourselves with — choose genuine nourishment
No moving lines: pay heed to the providing of nourishment. Be careful about your words and temperate in eating and drinking. Perseverance brings good fortune.
The Six Moving Lines: What Each Means in Practice
Line 1 Moving — Abandoning the Sacred Tortoise
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 23 Bo (Splitting Apart)
Abandoning genuine inner nourishment leads to the splitting apart of Bo. Return to genuine inner nourishment; do not envy the external nourishment of others.
Practical guidance: Return to genuine inner nourishment. Do not envy the external nourishment of others. Misfortune.
Line 2 Moving — Seeking from the Wrong Source
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 41 Sun (Decrease)
Seeking nourishment from the wrong source leads to genuine decrease. Return to the genuine path of genuine nourishment.
Practical guidance: Return to the genuine path of genuine nourishment. Continuing to seek from the wrong source brings misfortune.
Line 3 Moving — Turning Away from Nourishment
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 22 Bi (Grace)
The genuine grace of Bi is the path back from turning away from genuine nourishment. Return to genuine nourishment with genuine grace.
Practical guidance: Return to genuine nourishment with genuine grace. Nothing furthers for ten years if you continue to turn away.
Line 4 Moving — Tiger's Gaze
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 21 Shi He (Biting Through)
Seeking genuine nourishment with a tiger's gaze leads to the decisive action of Shi He. Good fortune, no blame.
Practical guidance: Seek genuine nourishment with genuine intensity. The decisive action of Shi He follows. Good fortune, no blame.
Line 5 Moving — Ruler's Perseverance
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 42 Yi (Increase)
Persevering in genuine nourishment leads to genuine increase. Do not cross the great water yet; persevere in genuine nourishment.
Practical guidance: Persevere in genuine nourishment. The genuine increase follows. Do not cross the great water yet.
Line 6 Moving — Source of Nourishment
Changing hexagram: Hexagram 24 Fu (Return)
The source of genuine nourishment has returned to the source of genuine inner virtue. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Practical guidance: You have become the source of genuine nourishment. It furthers one to cross the great water. Good fortune.
Five-Step Practical Reading Framework
- Assess the quality of nourishment: What are you nourishing yourself with? Is it genuine nourishment or the wrong nourishment?
- Check the source: Is the nourishment coming from the genuine source or the wrong source?
- Assess what you are giving out: What are you nourishing others with? Is it genuine nourishment?
- Check the changing hexagram: What does it reveal about the specific quality of the nourishment?
- Persevere in genuine nourishment: Perseverance brings good fortune. What is the daily practice of genuine nourishment?
What Is Next in This Series
- Part 1: The Symbol and Structure
- Part 2: The Six Lines — Complete Line-by-Line Commentary
- Part 3 (This Article): Divination Guide — How to Read Yi in Practice
- Part 4: Philosophy — Yi in Confucian, Taoist, and Classical Thought
- Part 5: Practical Applications — Mindful Nourishment, Careful Speech, Temperate Living
- Part 6: Modern Interpretations — Nutritional Science, Mindfulness Research, Conscious Consumption
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