Hexagram 41 of 64
Decrease
損 Sǔn
Upper trigram: 艮 Gèn, mountain
Lower trigram: 兌 Duì, lake
The judgment
有孚，元吉。无咎，可貞，利有攸往。曷之用？二簋可用享。
There is trust. Supreme good fortune. No blame. It can be held firmly. It is fitting to have somewhere to go. What is to be used? Two bowls can be used for an offering.
The Great Image
山下有澤，損；君子以懲忿窒欲。
Below the mountain there is a lake: Decrease. In the same way, the noble person checks anger and restrains desire.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
祀事遄往，无咎，酌損之。
For sacrificial business, go quickly. No blame. Weigh how much to decrease it.
A religious duty calls, and the line says to go quickly while weighing how much to give up. Consider whether you are giving up too much, or too little, for what a duty asks.
Line 2 九二
利貞，征凶，弗損益之。
It is fitting to hold firm. Setting out brings misfortune. Without decreasing it, increase it.
This line says to add without taking anything from what you have. Ask whether a sacrifice you are thinking of making would help anyone, or whether you could serve better by staying whole.
Line 3 六三
三人行，則損一人；一人行，則得其友。
Three walking together lose one. One walking alone finds a friend.
Three on the road lose one and one alone finds a companion. If a group of three feels off balance, consider whether the numbers themselves are the difficulty.
Line 4 六四
損其疾，使遄有喜，无咎。
Decreasing the affliction. Making it hasten brings joy. No blame.
The line speaks of reducing an affliction quickly. Read it as a question about a habit or grievance you would be glad to have less of, and ask what small step could start that soon.
Line 5 六五
或益之，十朋之龜弗克違，元吉。
Someone may increase it. A tortoise worth ten strings of cowries cannot go against it. Supreme good fortune.
Tortoise shells were used in divination, and one worth ten strings of cowries was costly. Ask whether you are still looking for a further sign about something that has already been made clear to you.
Line 6 上九
弗損益之，无咎，貞吉，利有攸往，得臣无家。
Without decreasing it, increase it. No blame. Holding firm brings good fortune. It is fitting to have somewhere to go. Gaining servants without a household.
Helpers come here from beyond any one household, and nothing is taken away to get them. Ask whether what you are building could draw in people beyond your own circle.
What this hexagram says
Lake below, mountain above: the water of the lake seems to feed the slopes over it. It stands for giving something up, and for a plain reduction made in good faith.
The judgment says that a simple offering of two bowls is enough when there is trust behind it. Having less need not cost you your dignity. Ask what you could do with less while keeping the honest part of what you offer.
If your question is about a crowded schedule, a role that has outgrown you or a commitment that has grown too large, tradition reads this as a time to cut back with care. The image asks that anger and desire be reduced first. The lines ask how much to cut and warn against cutting so far that nothing is left to give.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/損), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the first line, Wikisource (A) reads 祀事遄往 (sacrificial business, go quickly) and notes that another text has 已. Project Gutenberg (B) reads 已事遄往 (the business finished, go quickly). B also writes 無 where A has 无, variant forms of the same word.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.