What this change means
Thunder wakes beneath the mountain when the first and third lines move, and the figure becomes an open mouth. The third line leads with a warning: stillness that's forced turns painful, a rigid waist and a smothered heart. Real calm comes from the heart settling and the breath slowing, not from clamping down. The first line adds a gentler kind of stopping: halt before an ill-advised step, and keep that restraint over time. The resulting hexagram, 27 Nourishment, points to what helps: look after what feeds you, body and spirit, and help others grow through what you do. Be careful with words and moderate with food and drink. So don't grit your teeth to stay still. Feed yourself well, breathe, and let a calmer stillness grow from there.
What to read, in order
Marked ● is what Zhu Xi's tradition puts at the center for this number of moving lines.
- Line 3 of 52 Abiding
The stillness you need now can't be forced. It has to come from a calm heart and unhurried breathing.
Still the waist; the flesh along the spine is torn. Danger: the heart is smothered.
- Line 1 of 52 Abiding
Better to stop too soon than to take ill-advised steps.
Still the toes. No fault. Lasting constancy is favorable.
- The judgment of 52 Abiding
It's a time of stillness, of staying centered and steady: that's the best way forward in your present situation. Sometimes you need to stop, calm and confident, and wait for outer conditions to show you it's time to act. Don't go beyond what's happening now. There's no action, only a harmonious stillness, and staying that way brings success.
Still at the back; the body is not reached. Walking in the courtyard; its people are not seen. No fault.
- 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 → 52 Abidinglines 1 and 3
Other transformations of Abiding
- 26Great Achievementslines 1 and 2
- 4Immaturitylines 2 and 3
- 30The Flamelines 1 and 4
- 50The Vessel of Nourishmentlines 2 and 4
- 35Advancelines 3 and 4
- 37The Tribelines 1 and 5
- 57Gentlenesslines 2 and 5
- 20Observinglines 3 and 5
- 33Leaving Behindlines 4 and 5
- 36Darknesslines 1 and 6
- 46Going Uplines 2 and 6
- 2Passivitylines 3 and 6
- 62Success in Small Matterslines 4 and 6
- 39Held Backlines 5 and 6
Make your own cast
The answer changes with the question. Toss the coins and see which lines move for you.