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Hexagram 41: Decrease

䷨ 損 (Sǔn) · Decrease. Simplify; giving up the unnecessary pays off.

simplicity, sincerity, letting go, restraint

Lower trigram: Lake ☱ · Upper trigram: Mountain ☶

The judgment

Something has to be reduced, and when it is done sincerely, less can be enough. A simple offering given honestly means more than an elaborate one given for show. Cut back where it is wise, so that what remains has room to matter.

The image

Mountain above Lake: the lake gives up its water to green the slopes above it. Hold your temper and rein in passing urges, so that what you give up feeds something higher.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your casting, counting from the bottom.

• Line 1 (bottom): When your own work is done, go quickly to help others. Still, weigh how much you can give without draining them or yourself.
• Line 2: Hold steady; this isn't the moment to set off on a venture. You can help others best here without giving yourself away.
• Line 3: When three travel together, one tends to fall away; when one travels alone, a companion appears. Close bonds come in twos.
• Line 4: As you trim away your own faults, others come gladly to your side. Changing yourself is what draws them.
• Line 5: Something good comes to you that nothing can stand against, not even ten pairs of oracle tortoises. Receive it gracefully.
• Line 6 (top): You gain without taking anything from anyone. Others gather to help, and you come to belong to something larger than your own household.

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