Sǔn · Decrease
Upper trigram: ☶ Mountain · lower trigram: ☱ Lake
Take from below to add above; to decrease with sincerity brings happiness. Offer what is simple.
The primitive graph shows a hand placing a simple offering of food (two earthenware bowls) on a modest altar, evoking the image of ritual stripping-down and qualitative concentration. It symbolises the voluntary sacrifice of material or superficial aspects for the sake of spiritual elevation or the consolidation of foundations.
The cure of austerity and the concentration of the essential
This hexagram describes a phase of restriction, of a drop in material resources, or of forced simplification. It is not a punishment, but a cyclical necessity: you must trim the sails, prune your expenses or your outward desires. It is the moment of energy's concentration, when apparent poverty conceals a great richness of intention.
Found action on sincerity and absolute simplicity
The strategy consists in compensating for the lack of material means with an absolute purity of heart. The text recalls that even with two simple bowls, the offering is accepted if the sincerity is total. Practise voluntary economy, rid yourself of what encumbers you, and concentrate your forces on your fundamental goals. It is by emptying out the superfluous that one creates the space needed for renewal.
On the energetic plane, the hexagram joins the trigram of the Marsh (Dui, loss through evaporation) below to the trigram of the Mountain (Gen, cohesion) above. The Marsh diminishes itself to enrich the Mountain overlooking it. It is the image of the base restricting itself to fortify the summit. The challenge is to accept this momentary stripping-down as an investment in the future.
Each line is read only if it is changing in your cast. A changing line transforms the figure: the link under each text shows which hexagram it leads to.
Three-coin or yarrow-stalk cast, changing lines, outlook figure — computed on your device, no account.