I / The Corners of the Mouth (Providing Nourishment)
above:K^ en Keeping Still, Mountain
below:Ch^ en The Arousing, Thunder
I indicates that with firm correctness there will be good
fortune (in what is denoted by it). We must look at what we
are seeking to nourish, and by the exercise of our thoughts
seek for the proper aliment.
Overall Meaning
Nourishment, the symbol of sustenance
I is the symbol for the upper jaw, and gives name to the hexagram; but the whole figure suggests the appearance of the mouth. There are two undivided lines at the bottom and top, and the four divided lines between them. The first line is the first in the trigram Chan, which denotes movement; and the sixth is the third in Kan, denoting what is solid. The former is the lower jaw, part of the mobile chin; and the other the more fixed upper jaw. The open lines are the cavity of the mouth. As the name of the hexagram, I denotes nourishing, - one's body or mind, one's self or others. The nourishment in both the matter and method will differ according to the object of it; and every one must determine what to employ and do in every case by exercising his own thoughts, only one being premised, - that in both respects the nourishing must be correct, and in harmony with what is right. The auspice of the whole hexagram is good.