Hexagram 27, line 2
六二Line 2 of Jaws / Nourishment
Six in the second place · 頤 yí
爻辭 The line text
顛頤，拂經，于丘頤，征凶。The second line, divided, shows one looking downwards for nourishment, which is contrary to what is proper; or seeking it from the height (above), advance towards which will lead to evil.
六二征凶，行失類也。'The evil of advance by the subject of the second line, divided,' is owing to his leaving in his movements his proper associates.
In plain words
'Seeking nourishment upside down, against the norm; seeking it from the hill — going brings misfortune.' Line two is yin and central, but its correspondent at five is yin too, so it has no proper source to turn to. It looks downward to line one, which is backwards — the lower should be nourished by the higher — and then it looks up to the 'hill', the strong top line, which is not its partner. The small Image says 'in moving, it loses its own kind' (行失類也). Cheng Yi takes the line as someone who, lacking a rightful provider, goes begging in the wrong directions; the position is correct, the conduct is not.
If this line is changing
If the support you are entitled to is not there, do not go asking for it from below or from someone who owes you nothing; stay in place and sort out what is properly yours.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 震 Zhen (the Arousing) (thunder).
- It has no correspondence (無應) with line 5: both lines are yin, so this line must find its support in its neighbours or in itself.
之卦 When this line moves
頤 Jaws / Nourishment becomes ䷨ 41 損 Diminishing
The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
What it becomes41 · 損 DiminishingsǔnThe six lines of 頤 Jaws / Nourishment
- 初九Nine at the beginningthe spirit tortoise · envy · self-sufficiency lost
- 六二Six in the second placeupside-down seeking · no proper partner · losing one's kind
- 六三Six in the third placeagainst nourishment · ten years · the way reversed
- 六四Six in the fourth placetiger's gaze · nourishing others · focused desire
- 六五Six in the fifth placedependent ruler · stay put · do not cross the river
- 上九Nine at the topsource of nourishment · heavy charge · great cause for joy
Read 頤 Jaws / Nourishment for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 27, Jaws / Nourishment, mean?
- 'Seeking nourishment upside down, against the norm; seeking it from the hill — going brings misfortune.' Line two is yin and central, but its correspondent at five is yin too, so it has no proper source to turn to. It looks downward to line one, which is backwards — the lower should be nourished by the higher — and then it looks up to the 'hill', the strong top line, which is not its partner. The small Image says 'in moving, it loses its own kind' (行失類也). Cheng Yi takes the line as someone who, lacking a rightful provider, goes begging in the wrong directions; the position is correct, the conduct is not.
- What does hexagram 27 become when line 2 changes?
- Jaws / Nourishment becomes hexagram 41, 損 Diminishing: The lake at the foot of the mountain giving up its moisture: decrease. Sincerity makes even decrease supremely fortunate — two bowls of simple food suffice for the offering.
- Is line 2 of Jaws / Nourishment in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).