Hexagram 41
Sun / Decrease
䷨
損 · Sǔn
Upper: Mountain (Gen) · Lower: Lake (Dui)
Decrease — mountain above lake, the lake below the mountain. Reducing what is excessive; giving up to gain; sincere offering of what is held back below to support what is needed above.
Core theme
Decrease; reducing; the discipline of giving up what is excessive
Overview
Sun depicts the situation of decrease — reducing what is excessive, giving up what should be released, the discipline of taking less for the sake of what matters more. Mountain above lake — what is below offers up to what is above. The hexagram is paired with Yi (42, Increase) as complementary opposite.
The Wilhelm/Baynes commentary emphasizes that the decrease is voluntary and serves a purpose. Not loss imposed against the practitioner's will but discipline that releases what is excessive in service of what matters. The released resources can support more important work; the discipline itself develops character.
The Judgment
Decrease combined with sincerity brings about supreme good fortune without blame. One may be persevering in this. It furthers one to undertake something. How is this to be carried out? One may use two small bowls for the sacrifice.
The Image
At the foot of the mountain, the lake: the image of Decrease. Thus the superior person controls his anger and restrains his instincts.
Meaning
Sun teaches the wisdom of voluntary decrease. The Judgment's promise — supreme good fortune through sincere decrease — is conditional on the sincerity. The decrease must be genuine, not performed. The two small bowls for sacrifice represent simplicity and sincerity rather than elaborate display.
The Image's instruction reflects the broader application: control anger, restrain instincts. The decrease applies to what is excessive in oneself — anger, impulses, drives that are too strong. Reducing these in service of right orientation is the practice the hexagram favors.
Application — when this hexagram appears
When this hexagram appears: voluntary decrease serves the situation. The practitioner should reduce what is excessive in service of what matters more.
The practitioner should: (1) recognize what is excessive and ready for decrease; (2) reduce sincerely rather than reluctantly; (3) use simplicity rather than elaborate gesture; (4) control anger and restrain instincts; (5) trust that the decrease produces good fortune through sincerity.
The six lines (changing-line commentary)
Line 1 (bottom)
Going quickly when one's tasks are finished is without blame. But one must reflect on how much one may decrease others. Decrease must serve the right scope. Going quickly when work is done is appropriate; but reflect on how much decrease imposed on others is fair. Discriminate.
Line 2
Perseverance furthers. To undertake something brings misfortune. Without decreasing oneself, one is able to bring increase to others. Special wisdom: sometimes one's perseverance produces benefit for others without requiring self-decrease. Don't decrease unnecessarily; sometimes the right work is done without sacrificial loss.
Line 3
When three people journey together, their number decreases by one. When one man journeys alone, he finds a companion. Companionship requires reduction from larger group; isolation produces meeting. The line addresses the dynamics of group versus individual approach.
Line 4
If a man decreases his faults, it makes the other hasten to come and rejoice. No blame. Self-decrease that makes others hasten in friendship. Reducing one's faults produces relational benefit; others come gladly when the difficulty has been addressed.
Line 5
Someone does indeed increase him. Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Supreme good fortune. Surprising abundance. Despite the hexagram of decrease, increase comes — and is so substantial that ten pairs of tortoises (ancient symbols of substantial value) cannot oppose it. Supreme good fortune from this unexpected abundance.
Line 6 (top)
If one is increased without depriving others, there is no blame. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to undertake something. One obtains servants but no longer has a separate home. The fullest realization: increase comes without others' loss. The combined favor produces good fortune; major undertakings are favored; relationships expand beyond just the home.
Timing
Periods of necessary reduction; lent-like seasons; the disciplinary phases. Late spring (when growth requires pruning).
FAQ
What should I give up?
What is excessive in your situation — anger, impulses, possessions, commitments, drives, attachments. The hexagram doesn't specify generic answers; examine what is genuinely excessive in your case. Sincere decrease of what is excessive produces good fortune.
Why two small bowls?
Simplicity over elaborate display. The two small bowls for sacrifice represent sincere offering without ornamentation. Decrease's promise depends on sincerity, not on impressive form. Simple genuine offering serves better than elaborate display.
Should I always be decreasing?
Sun is paired with Yi (42, Increase) as complementary opposite. Different times call for different responses. Sun is for moments when decrease serves; Yi is for moments when increase serves. The wisdom is recognizing which moment you're in.
What about line 5's surprising increase?
Sometimes within the hexagram of decrease, surprising increase comes. The line's wisdom: don't expect outcomes too rigidly. The discipline of decrease can produce unexpected abundance; ten pairs of tortoises represent substantial unforeseen benefit. Trust the practice; the outcomes may surprise.
How do I 'control anger and restrain instincts'?
The Image's instruction. Practical work: notice when anger or impulse arises; pause before acting on it; ask whether expression serves; restrain when restraint serves better. The practice develops over time; cumulative cultivation produces character that doesn't need constant restraint because the underlying excess has been reduced.
Astrological correspondence
Elements
earth, metal
Mountain (Gen) above Lake (Dui) — the trigram pair carries Chinese five-phase (wuxing) elemental correspondences that anchor the hexagram in elemental cycles.