頤 → 蹇
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 39: Obstruction
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 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 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
殺行桃園，見虎東西。螳螂之敵，使我無患。
Marching through the peach orchard; tigers appear east and west. The mantis stands as adversary; it keeps me from harm.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder yields to water above the mountain — Obstruction, difficulty piled upon difficulty. Walking through the peach orchard amid killing intent, one spots tigers prowling east and west. Yet the mantis becomes the enemy's adversary, diverting the threat and keeping one safe. The mantis — legendary for rearing its forelegs against an oncoming chariot — here paradoxically serves as protector. The small creature's audacious defiance draws the predator's attention away. From Nourishment to Obstruction, the transformation blocks the path but offers an unlikely guardian: when water sits atop the mountain, the way forward is impassable, yet even in obstruction, an improbable defender appears. Survival sometimes depends on the smallest, most reckless courage.
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