In love
In matters of the heart, Yi underlines what each person brings to the other: words that support, attention given without measure or demand.
Hexagram 27
I Ching hexagram 27: The Corners of the Mouth (Yi)
Yi means nourishment, the corners of the mouth: sorting what you cultivate, what you put forward in words, and what you let in.
- nourishing
- discernment
- moderation
The essentials
Yi at a glance
For you, Yi invites you to look at what truly nourishes you, in actions, words, and relationships, and to choose without scattering yourself.
A strength
A clear view of what sustains and what drains: the source of what you cultivate is yours to choose.
Something to watch
Seeking from others what you could give yourself, and relying on what does not nourish.
- What it advises
- Sort through what nourishes you: what you read, say, and keep company with. Keep the essential, lighten the rest.
- Its opposite
- 28. Preponderance of the Great (Da guo)
The situation
Yi has the shape of an open mouth: two solid lines at top and bottom, four broken lines between them. The Judgment reads that firmness in the way you nourish leads to a good result.
It invites you to look at two things: what you bring to others, and what you seek to sustain yourself. In other words, to observe where what keeps you alive comes from and to whom you give it.
The hexagram also concerns speech and measure: what goes in through the mouth as much as what comes out of it. It reminds you that you become what you choose to cultivate, and that it is better to choose with care.
The image: the Mountain above Thunder
- AboveMountain: the stillness that steadies
- BelowThunder: the shock that awakens
Thunder beneath the Mountain: the awakening under a motionless peak. The Great Image uses it to recommend moderation: weigh your words and regulate your table with measure.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · solidGiving up your own precious tortoise to gaze enviously at another’s jaws: the mistake of coveting what you could cultivate at home.
- 2nd line · brokenSeeking to be fed from below your level, or from a source too far away: moving ahead this way leads to a setback. Better to look elsewhere.
- 3rd line · brokenRejecting what truly nourishes and settling for what flatters: even with perseverance, the outcome is thwarted. For a long time nothing is gained.
- 4th line · brokenLooking down in order to nourish: attention turned toward those who depend on you, which avoids error. A fortunate omen.
- 5th line · brokenGoing against the grain of custom: persevering is judged fortunate, but great crossings remain inadvisable.
- 6th line (top) · solidBeing the source others feed on: the responsibility is heavy, but it turns out well, and even great crossings become favorable.
Yi in your life
At work
For current projects, Yi invites you to invest in what makes you grow: training, quality tools, relationships of trust, rather than the immediate.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 頤 (yí)
- Number
- 27 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Mountain (艮) above, Thunder (震) below
- Inner hexagram
- 2. The Receptive (Kun) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 27. The Corners of the Mouth (Yi)
- Symbol
- ䷚ (U+4DDA)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 27
What does I Ching hexagram 27 mean?
Hexagram 27, Yi, means nourishment: what sustains the spirit as well as relationships, and how you choose to cultivate it or give it.
Why does Yi look like a mouth?
Its figure has two solid lines at top and bottom and four broken lines in the middle, like jaws around an empty mouth. This image is ancient and gives the hexagram its name.