Hexagram 41: Decrease
䷨ 損 Sǔn – The Book of Changes
The Judgment
In Decrease, if there is sincerity in him who employs it, there will be great good fortune: freedom from error, firmness and correctness that can be maintained, and advantage in every movement that shall be made. In what shall this sincerity be employed? Even in sacrifice two baskets of grain, though there be nothing else, may be presented.
The Image
The waters of a marsh at the foot of a mountain: the image of Decrease. Thus the superior man restrains his wrath and represses his desires.
Description
Decrease (Sun) shows the lake beneath the mountain, giving up its water to nourish the heights. Something below is reduced so that something above may grow. Loss is not misfortune when accepted sincerely; simplicity and modest offerings are enough, and anger and desire must be restrained.
The six lines
A line's place shapes its role: 1 the beginning, 2 the center of the inner world, 3 the threshold to the outside, 4 close to power, 5 the ruler's place, 6 the end and the excess. Keep this grid in mind and the line texts become much easier to read. More in the guide →
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Line 1: Old Yang (bottom)
Decrease begins. Favorable — letting go creates space; simplicity is sacred.
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Line 2: Old Yang
Decrease with intention. Favorable — what is surrendered becomes strength; choose wisely.
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Line 3: Old Yin
Decrease with resistance. Danger — clinging to excess breeds suffering; release.
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Line 4: Old Yin
Decrease with clarity. Favorable — knowing what to keep and what to shed is wisdom.
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Line 5: Old Yin
Decrease with generosity. Favorable — giving enriches the giver; abundance flows from emptiness.
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Line 6: Old Yang (top)
Decrease fulfilled. Favorable — the burden lifts; the spirit rises.
Reading by area of life
❤️ What does hexagram 41 mean for relationships and private life?
Less can be more. Fewer expectations, fewer demands, fewer grand gestures: simplicity brings you closer now. A modest gesture given sincerely outweighs an expensive one given out of duty. Watch for irritation and keep it in check. If something has to be given up for the relationship to grow, give it freely. What is shared honestly, however small, is enough.
💼 What does hexagram 41 mean for work and money?
Cut back. Budgets shrink, margins narrow, or you choose to simplify on purpose. Reduce costs, trim unnecessary projects, focus on essentials. Decrease handled with honesty and calm builds trust with partners and staff. Avoid impulsive decisions driven by frustration. Lean times can strengthen a business if they lead to clarity about what really matters and what can go.
🌌 What does hexagram 41 mean for your personal path and spirituality?
Simplify. Restraining anger and curbing desire are the classic practices here, and both free up enormous energy. Give up something you cling to: a habit, a possession, a self-image. Offerings need not be grand; two simple baskets of grain, given sincerely, are acceptable. Austerity chosen freely feels very different from loss imposed. What is subtracted from the ego is added to the spirit.
Nuclear hexagram
Lines 2, 3 and 4 form the lower trigram, lines 3, 4 and 5 the upper one. Leaving out the beginning and the end reveals the core of the situation, what is at work out of sight. It is a secondary aspect, not a second verdict. If it seems to contradict the main hexagram, that happens and is not an error. More in the guide →
Lines 2, 3, 4 and 3, 4, 5 form nuclear hexagram 24, Return. It shows what is at work beneath the surface – an inner tendency, not a verdict on the situation itself.
Hexagram 24 – Return
Return indicates that there will be free course and progress. The subject of it finds no one to distress him in his exits and entrances; friends come to him, and no error is committed. He will return and repeat his proper course. In seven days comes his return. There will be advantage in whatever direction movement is made.
The two trigrams
- Upper, outer: Gen – Mountain
- Keeping Still (Youngest Son). Within, it means gathering, boundaries and stillness; without, stability, reflection and the completion of a cycle.
- Lower, inner: Dui – Lake
- The Joyous (Youngest Daughter). Within, it shows as joy, self-reflection and openness; without, as inspiration that finds expression through conversation and creativity.