頤 → 比
Hexagram 27: Nourishment → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 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 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
旦往暮還，各與相存，身無凶患。
Setting out at dawn, returning at dusk; each sustaining the other. The body is free from misfortune and calamity.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain over thunder yields to water upon earth, the image of holding together. Going out at dawn and returning at dusk, each person sustains the other, and no harm befalls the body. The verse is brief and serene, a picture of daily reciprocity: neighbors or kin exchange visits, share provisions, and maintain bonds through the simple rhythm of departure and return. From Nourishment to Holding Together, the transformation is organic. What one cultivates through careful nourishment becomes the basis for mutual support. The mountain's solitary discernment dissolves into the water's natural pooling upon earth, where sustenance is no longer hoarded but shared.
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