The Corners of the Mouth
Mountain over thunder, the image of nourishment, what we take in and what we say.
The corners of the mouth furthers through perseverance. Pay heed to providing nourishment and to what people seek to fill their own mouths with.
Thunder under the mountain, the image of nourishment. The superior person is careful with words and moderate in eating and drinking.
In plain terms: Hexagram 27, "The Corners of the Mouth", is one of the 64 symbols in the I Ching — an ancient Chinese book you consult for guidance, a bit like asking a wise advisor. Its core message: mountain over thunder, the image of nourishment, what we take in and what we say..
Modern Interpretation
A nourishment hexagram about what we take in and what we send out through the mouth: food, words, attention, content. The classical counsel is to be careful about the inputs and outputs; both shape who we become. In modern terms this is the diet, the news consumption, the social media inputs, the words we choose to speak about others, the content we publish. What goes through the mouth shapes the person.
Application by Life Domain
Watch what you say to and about your partner. Words spoken in irritation are remembered for years.
Audit your inputs. The reading list, the news diet, the social feed shape strategy more than any single decision. Curate the upstream.
Yes, but be deliberate about what you take in to inform the decision and what you say after deciding.
Curate inputs. Practice careful speech. The mouth is a doorway in both directions.
The Trigrams of This Hexagram
Upper: Gen (艮)
Mountain, Keeping Still, stillness and limit. In Five Element terms: Yang Earth.
Lower: Zhen (震)
Thunder, the Arousing, sudden movement. In Five Element terms: Yang Wood.
Other Hexagrams
Browse other hexagrams in the I Ching sequence.