Hexagram 41: Decrease山澤損 · Sǔn

• Upper trigram　Gèn, Mountain: stillness, steadiness and stopping at the right time.
• Lower trigram　Duì, Lake: joy, exchange and open conversation.

The Judgment

Decrease with sincerity brings supreme good fortune, without blame; one may persevere, and it furthers to go somewhere. How is it to be used? Two small bowls are enough for an offering.

有孚，元吉，无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Reducing and simplifying. Today suits cutting back on extra spending, belongings or demands; simple and sincere is in fact more powerful.

Something to do today

• Cut one unnecessary expense or item today.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.