頤 → 咸
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 31: Influence
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Line 1
初九 舍爾靈龜。觀我朶頤。凶。
Nine at the beginning means: You let your magic tortoise go, And look at me with the corners of your mouth drooping. Misfortune.
Line 3
六三 拂頤。貞凶。十年勿用。无攸利。
Six in the third place means: Turning away from nourishment. Perseverance brings misfortune. Do not act thus for ten years. Nothing serves to further.
Line 4
六四 顛頤。吉。虎視眈眈。其欲逐逐。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: Turning to the summit For provision of nourishment Brings good fortune. Spying about with sharp eyes Like a tiger with insatiable craving. No blame.
Line 5
六五 拂經。居貞吉。不可涉大川。
Six in the fifth place means: Turning away from the path. To remain persevering brings good fortune. One should not cross the great water.
Line 6
上九 由頤。厲吉。利涉大川。
Nine at the top means: The source of nourishment. Awareness of danger brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
喜笑不常，失其福慶。口辟言𤴾，行者畏忌。
Joy and laughter do not last; blessings and good fortune are lost. The mouth gapes, speech grows rash; travelers grow wary and afraid.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder yields to lake over mountain — Influence, the mutual attraction of opposites. Laughter and joy are inconstant; blessings and good fortune slip away. The mouth gapes open in crooked speech, and travelers grow wary and avoid the path. The verse presents influence corrupted: what should attract instead repels. The open mouth that should nourish instead produces twisted words, driving others away. From Nourishment to Influence, the transformation inverts: the lake above the mountain should draw things upward through gentle receptivity, but here the mouth's misuse — erratic moods and distorted speech — makes all influence poisonous. Travelers, who depend on hospitality, flee from this corrupted welcome.
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