Hexagram 27 and 28

back to 27
back to 28

27 YI Jaws

Picture at top: YI2, the ancient character and its parts.
YÍ: The character represents a jaw or chin yi2 (1) and ‘head’ ye4 (2), a person with a big head, together meaning: lower part of face, chin, cheeks, nourish, rear, take care of oneself.
The characters at left: words or compounds with YI2
1 (release jaw) laugh; smile (release is same char. as the name of hex. 40)
2 (jaw nourish) keep fit
3 (wonderful language release jaw) humorous (in style of language)
4 (jaw point air apply) (air: or spirit, vital energy) be insufferably bossy

Hex.27 is not only about nourishment. The name is very simple: jaws or cheeks, but the meaning is, apart from food, also what one does with one’s cheeks. There are several expressions which clarify these meanings: yí zhi, literally 'point with the cheeks', means being bossy: to signify one's intentions to subordinates by twisting the cheeks; yí shén, cheek spirit: to rest one's mind or heart, to have a mental relaxation.
Pronounced SHEN3: raise the eyes to look at someone.

In many cases these other meanings will be important, more so than the food. You want to know what someone feels, so look at his cheeks, maybe they can tell you. Are they relaxed, friendly, or are they tense? Probably you do that already all the time.
At the same time it refers to your own cheeks, and that may not be so easy to see. If you are full of feelings of insecurity and inner agitation you make your jaws rigid. Give your own positive feelings the first place, forget about the rest and radiate easiness and relaxation. The rest is not important, because it does not help anything. Fear and anxiousness are often understandable, but they work contrary to what you want to show the other person. 
When people talk about their love, they always say: because I felt so at ease or safe with him or her.. Show easyness and the other one will feel at ease too.

28 DA GUO Beyond The Great Pass

Picture at top: DA4 GUO4, the ancient characters and their parts.
  DÀGUÒ: DA4 is a grown up man (1): great, big, tall, large, much, very, extremely, eldest, senior, an adult, to make large.
GUO4, the second character, is a pass in a mountain, also meaning the completion of an action. Steps chi4 (2) and a foot zhi3 (3): to go, chuo4. The oldest way of writing chuo4 was a road-crossing xing2 with a foot (5).
Guo4 (4) is a skeleton, gua3 (6), indicating the mountain-ridge. But in guo there is a mouth added; one of its other meanings is a distorted or wry mouth, or with a cleft palate: the opening between the mountains, a pass.
A very old version is 7, W-Zhou: a picture of a road up a mountain, with the foot and a (half) road.
  Dà Guò is a great pass in a mountain, it means to go beyond the proper limit, surplus. A passing which is usually irreversible. It is used for serious transgressions, especially in respect to rules, like in a school or army. But also in a positive sense: surpassing others with an asset. Better or smarter. It means also to transfer accounts and the transition from active life to old age.

The characters at left: words or compounds with DA4 or GUO4
1Mawangdui YiJing: for DA another character is used: tai, great. It is the name of hex.11.
2 (not pass) but; however; only; merely, extremely
3 (pass come) come over/up; come here
4 (go-through pass) traverse; get past, adopt; pass; carry (motion/legislation) by (means/way of); through
5 (altar-cleft) misfortune
6 (pass fire) extreme; radical
7 (ponder pass) ponder over one's mistakes
8 (mend pass) expiate

Hex.28 is about growing old. How to deal with it. One (the most important?) way is to rejuvenate or stay young: find that young woman, your playful feelings, inside or outside.