| Name | 损 Sǔn, “Decrease” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☶ 艮 Mountain: stillness and limits |
| Lower trigram | ☱ 兑 Lake: openness and exchange |
The Judgment
有孚，元吉，无咎，可贞，利有攸往。曷之用二簋，可用享。
With sincerity, supreme fortune. No blame. Stay true. Wise to have somewhere to go. How is this to be used? Two small bowls may serve as the offering.
Giving up something now in exchange for something bigger later. As long as the intention is real, a small offering counts as much as a grand one.
The Image
山下有泽，损；君子以惩忿窒欲。
A lake at the foot of the mountain — Decrease. The wise restrain their anger and curb their desires.
Cut what's excessive in you — the temper, the wanting. That's the only real decrease that builds you up.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yang
已事遄往，无咎。酌损之。
Going quickly when one's work is done. No blame. Consider how much may be decreased.
Finish, then leave. Don't linger. And when helping others — measure carefully, don't drain yourself.
Line 2 · second · Yang
利贞，征凶。弗损益之。
Wise to stay true. To set out — misfortune. One can increase by not decreasing.
Hold your ground. Don't sacrifice more — sometimes just being who you are is the gift.
Line 3 · third · Yin
三人行，则损一人，一人行，则得其友。
When three people travel together, they decrease by one. When one travels alone, one finds a companion.
Threes turn into twos by nature. Don't fight it — just notice it. And one alone usually meets someone, too.
Line 4 · fourth · Yin
损其疾，使遄有喜，无咎。
Decrease his faults. Make haste. There is joy. No blame.
Fix what's wrong in you fast. Don't drag it out. The faster you correct, the faster the relief.
Line 5 · fifth · Yin
或益之十朋之龟，弗克违，元吉。
Some increase him. Ten pairs of tortoises cannot resist. Supreme fortune.
Unexpected, unstoppable abundance arrives. You couldn't refuse it if you tried. Just receive it.
Line 6 · top · Yang
弗损益之，无咎，贞吉。利有攸往，得臣无家。
If one is increased without depriving others, no blame. Stay true — fortune. Wise to have somewhere to go. One obtains servants without separate homes.
Wealth that lifts everyone, not at anyone's expense. People naturally come to work with you — no recruiting needed.
Related hexagrams
- Inverted (turned upside down): Hexagram 42, Increase
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 31, Influence