初
初九。己事遄往、无咎。酌損之。
Finish your task quickly—no blame. Measure the decrease.
䷨
Hexagram 41
Decrease (山沢損)
Santaku-son / Sǔn
Taking from the lake to add to the mountain—deliberate reduction. Cutting excess sustains harmony.
Judgment
損。有孚、元吉、无咎、可貞。利有攸往。曷之用、二簋可用享。
Decrease. With sincerity, great fortune, no blame; can be correct. Favorable to have a direction. Even two small bowls suffice for offering.
Voluntary sacrifice brings blessing; small sincere offerings are enough.
Line-by-Line (Yao)
Interpretations if the line changes.
二
九二。利貞、征凶。弗損、益之。
Uprightness benefits; going forth is misfortune. Do not decrease here—add instead.
三
六三。三人行、則損一人。一人行、則得其友。
Three travel—one is lost. One travels—finds a friend. Simplify to gain harmony.
四
六四。損其疾、使遄有喜、无咎。
Decrease your illness; quick action brings joy, no blame.
五
六五。或益之十朋之龜、弗克違。元吉。
Someone increases you with a tenfold tortoise treasure; you cannot refuse—great fortune. Accept helpful gifts.
上
上九。弗損、益之。无咎、貞吉。利有攸往、得臣无家。
Do not decrease—augment instead. No blame; upright fortune. Favorable to move; gain followers with no private agenda.
Practical Reading: Love, Career, Health & Decisions
When you cast Hexagram 41, Sǔn (Decrease), the Book of Changes shows you a situation with Gen (Mountain) above and Dui (Lake) below. Taking from the lake to add to the mountain—deliberate reduction. Cutting excess sustains harmony. Use the cards below to map that pattern onto your specific question — a love reading, a career decision, a health concern, or a yes/no choice.
Love & Relationships
Give a bit more than you take; generosity deepens trust. In a love or relationship reading, Hexagram 41 (Sǔn) describes the meeting point of Gen (mountain) above and Dui (lake) below: how the outer situation meets your inner state. Ask whether you are forcing the relationship to fit a picture, or letting it move at the rhythm this hexagram suggests. For a partnered question, read the changing lines to see which side — yours or the other person's — is being asked to shift.
Work & Career
Trim costs and ego; small sincere efforts matter. In work and career, Sǔn points to whether the outer market or workplace (Gen (mountain)) and your inner stance (Dui (lake)) are in alignment. If a project, negotiation, or job change is the question, ask what this hexagram says about timing rather than effort: pushing harder rarely changes a Sǔn situation; reading the configuration usually does.
Health & Wellbeing
Reduce excess—diet, workload—and balance returns. For a body or wellness reading, treat the lines of Hexagram 41 as descriptions of phases, not diagnoses. Sǔn usually signals where energy needs to be conserved versus where it is asking to be expressed. Combine the hexagram's advice with concrete medical guidance — the I Ching is a reflective tool, not a substitute for professional care.
Decision-Making
When the question is a yes/no — should I take the offer, move, leave, commit? — read Hexagram 41 (Sǔn, Decrease) as a statement about the configuration of your situation rather than the outcome. The summary "Taking from the lake to add to the mountain—deliberate reduction. Cutting excess sustains harmony." is your starting frame. Ask: does this action respect that configuration, or fight it? Changing lines, if any, tell you which specific aspect needs to bend.
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