頤 → 恆
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 32: Duration
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 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 2
六二 顛頤。拂經于丘。頤征凶。
Six in the second place means: Turning to the summit for nourishment, Deviating from the path To seek nourishment from the hill. Continuing to do this brings 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 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
毛生毫背，國樂民富，侯王有德。
Fine hairs grow on the tortoise back; the state rejoices, the people prosper. The lord and prince possess virtue.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder opens toward thunder over wind — Duration, the hexagram of constancy. Fine fur grows on the animal's back — an omen of rare prosperity. The state delights in its music, the people are wealthy, and the lord possesses virtue. The image of hair growing thick on the back suggests robust health and natural abundance, the kind that only sustained nourishment over time can produce. From Nourishment to Duration, the transformation is one of time: what the mountain's careful feeding initiates, thunder and wind perpetuate through unchanging rhythm. Nourishment extended into constancy becomes civilization itself — not a single meal but an enduring feast.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store