Also known as Decrease, Diminishing, Reduction.
The character 損 means to reduce or take away. Hexagram 41 is about times when less is the right answer: cutting back, simplifying, or giving from below so that something above can grow. Done sincerely, decrease isn't a loss. It's an investment.
The figure
Mountain over Lake. The lake at the foot of the mountain loses water to feed the slopes above it. Something is taken from below and added above. It is the reverse of hexagram 42, where what is above feeds what is below.
The judgment
Trust it. It goes well from the start, there is nothing wrong with it, it holds, and it pays to set out.
The classical text adds that two small bowls are enough for the offering. In lean times, a simple, sincere gesture counts for as much as a grand one.
The image
A marsh cut into the foot of the mountain, the one deepening as the other loses. Check your temper and block off what you want.
The first thing to reduce is in yourself: anger and appetite.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Leaving quickly once your work is done. Not a mistake. But think about how much you take from others.
- Line 2. Holding steady helps. Setting out goes badly. You can help others without diminishing yourself.
- Line 3. Three set out together and lose one. A lone walker gains a friend. Groups settle into pairs.
- Line 4. Reducing your faults brings others gladly to you. Not a mistake.
- Line 5. Someone truly enriches you, and ten pairs of tortoise shells can't oppose it. This goes very well. Fate is on your side.
- Line 6, at the top. Gaining without taking from anyone. Not a mistake. Holding steady goes well, and it helps to go ahead. You gain helpers, but give up having a home of your own.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 41 says cut back. Simplify, let go of excess and give where it will grow something. Start with your own habits, and keep your offerings small and sincere.