What this change means
Thunder below a mountain, the shape of an open mouth: the first and top lines move. The top leads with a strong warning: it's not the time to lead but to follow, and grabbing a leading position would bring retaliation on everyone. The first line, frost underfoot, warns that decay can advance quietly. The resulting hexagram, 27 Nourishment, turns attention to what sustains you. Look after your physical and spiritual nourishment, absorb what does you good, and pass it on to the people near you. So instead of fighting for position, tend to your foundations. Watch the small signs of decline in your health, habits or resources, and correct them early. Be careful with words, and moderate in what you consume. Giving and receiving well tends to protect you better than any struggle for control.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 6 of 2 Passivity
It's not the time to lead; it's the time to follow. Trying to take a leading position now will bring retaliation on you that affects everyone.
Dragons fight in the open country. Their blood is dark and yellow.
- Line 1 of 2 Passivity
Things can decline without anyone noticing. It's time to take precautions so the decline doesn't become total.
Frost underfoot. Firm ice is on its way.
- The judgment of 2 Passivity
This is not the time to take the initiative to achieve things. It's better to let others guide you and to keep at your projects with patience.
Great success. The constancy of a mare is favorable. The noble person has somewhere to go: going ahead, they lose the way; following behind, they find someone to guide them. It is favorable to find friends in the southwest and to lose them in the northeast. Calm constancy brings good fortune.
- The judgment of 27 Nourishment
Right now you need to take care of your physical and spiritual nourishment, so you have the resources you need in each area, and at the same time help others grow through what you do. Success lies in giving and receiving: take in what is good for you and share it with those around you.
Constancy brings good fortune. Watching the jaws; seeking for oneself what fills the mouth.
The trigrams
The way back
27 Nourishment → 2 Passivitylines 1 and 6
Other transformations of Passivity
- 19Fleeting Successlines 1 and 2
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 3
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 3
- 51Shocklines 1 and 4
- 40Clearing Obstacleslines 2 and 4
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 3 and 4
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 1 and 5
- 29Waterlines 2 and 5
- 39Held Backlines 3 and 5
- 45Meetinglines 4 and 5
- 4Immaturitylines 2 and 6
- 52Abidinglines 3 and 6
- 35Advancelines 4 and 6
- 20Observinglines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.