Drinking

Drinking is read as taking in what you need — the image of a requirement being met. Water taken inward. Traditional reading asks whether the thirst was answered, since the need and the supply are both parts of the symbol.

Actions are read as comments on capacity and agency. Drinking is read as taking in what you need — the image of a requirement being met. Traditional readings focus on whether you were doing it or watching it happen. Drinking and remaining thirsty is a reported variant, read as a need that the supply did not actually address.

Sources distinguish drinking water from drinking wine by function: one answers a requirement, the other releases a restraint. It is grouped under Water (水) in the five-element system.