What this change means
Light sinks into the earth as the third and top lines move, and the role of provider has to be carried in the dark. The top line leads: you become the source others draw from, with danger and good fortune together; you gain the resources for your own needs and help others with theirs, a weighty responsibility. The third warns of imbalance, of tending only the worldly appetite and overindulging, which brings misfortune and long barren stretches. The resulting hexagram, 36 Darkness, describes a hard time spent alongside the wrong people. Protect yourself, hold to your integrity, and don't show your light openly. So provide quietly. Keep your habits moderate, since excess is easy to exploit in times like these, and don't advertise what you have. Hard times pass, and careful stewardship gets you through them.
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 27 Nourishment
You gain the resources to take care of your own affairs, and you help others get theirs. This brings a great responsibility, but also great success.
From here comes sustenance. Danger; good fortune. It is favorable to cross the great river.
- Line 3 of 27 Nourishment
Watch the balance between your worldly food and your higher food closely: tending only to the first, and overindulging, brings misfortune.
Going against sustenance. Even with constancy, misfortune. For ten years, do not act. Nothing is favorable.
- 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 judgment of 36 Darkness
It's a dark time: circumstances force you to live alongside the wrong people. If you know how to protect yourself, hold on to your integrity, and go unnoticed, without openly showing your light and your talents, you'll stay safe until better times come. However hard they seem, hard times pass too.
Constancy in hardship is favorable.
The trigrams
The way back
36 Darkness → 27 Nourishmentlines 3 and 6
Other transformations of Nourishment
- 4Immaturitylines 1 and 2
- 52Abidinglines 1 and 3
- 26Great Achievementslines 2 and 3
- 35Advancelines 1 and 4
- 38Oppositeslines 2 and 4
- 30The Flamelines 3 and 4
- 20Observinglines 1 and 5
- 61Inner Integritylines 2 and 5
- 37The Tribelines 3 and 5
- 25Innocencelines 4 and 5
- 2Passivitylines 1 and 6
- 19Fleeting Successlines 2 and 6
- 51Shocklines 4 and 6
- 3Initial Obstacleslines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.