Hexagram 41, Mountain over Lake: Decrease (Sun), is the 41st of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. It is made of Gen (mountain) above and Dui (lake) below, and it speaks about the wisdom of reducing: cutting back in the right places may leave life lighter and steadier.

Hexagram 41 (Sun) at a Glance

Attribute	Detail
Number	41 of 64
Name	Mountain over Lake: Decrease (Sun)
Image	☶ over ☱ (mountain over lake, a lake at the foot of the mountain)
Inner (lower) trigram	Dui ☱, lake or marsh
Outer (upper) trigram	Gen ☶, mountain
Element	Earth (belongs to the Gen house)
Overall tone	Cutting back, restraint, knowing when to yield; good fortune comes with sincerity
Key phrase	Sincerity brings supreme good fortune; two small baskets are enough for the offering
Yang lines	3 of 6
Opposite hexagram (every line flipped)	Hexagram 31, Lake over Mountain: Influence (Xian)
Reversed hexagram (turned upside down)	Hexagram 42, Wind over Thunder: Increase (Yi)

The Original Text and Its Meaning

This part gives the classical wording of Hexagram 41 in English, with a plain explanation. If you only care about how the hexagram applies to daily life, feel free to skim it and jump to the later sections.

The Judgment

Decrease: with sincerity, supreme good fortune, no fault, one may stay firm, and it is favorable to have somewhere to go. How should it be used? Two small baskets of grain may be used for the offering.

In plain words: Sun means to reduce and to cut back. The Judgment says that with sincerity things go very well, nothing is harmed, you can hold firm, and moving forward also helps. How to do it? Two plain baskets of offerings are enough for a ceremony. The last line is a good one: you do not need much, only a sincere heart. The hidden meaning is that when you have to cut back, do not cling. Reducing in the right place and at the right time tends to give a better result than holding on tightly.

The Image

At the foot of the mountain, a lake: Decrease. In the same way, the noble person curbs anger and blocks desire.

In plain words: a lake beneath a mountain is the image of Sun. The noble person follows it by reducing anger and putting a stop to desire. This is one of the most direct lines in the I Ching. "Curbing anger" means holding back hot temper. "Blocking desire" means closing off wants you do not need. Anger and greed are the two things people most need to cut back. Cut those two, and nearly everything else gets much lighter.

The Six Lines

The six lines of Sun describe six different ways of cutting back, from giving up something for others to reducing yourself. Read from the bottom up: Line 1 is the lowest line and Line 6 is the highest.

Line	Classical wording	Plain meaning
Line 1 (nine at the start)	Having finished your own tasks, go quickly to help; no fault, but weigh how much to give up.	Once your own work is done, go and help without delay; no harm, but think about how much you cut back
Line 2 (nine in the second place)	Favorable to stay firm; to advance brings misfortune. Without decreasing, you add benefit to others.	Holding steady helps, and charging ahead goes badly. You give benefit without cutting yourself down
Line 3 (six in the third place)	When three people travel, one is lost; when one person travels, he finds a companion.	Three walking together lose one; one walking alone finds a friend
Line 4 (six in the fourth place)	Lessening one's flaws, so that joy comes quickly; no fault.	Reduce your faults and gladness arrives fast; no harm
Line 5 (six in the fifth place)	Someone adds to it a tortoise shell worth ten strings of cowries; it cannot be refused. Supreme good fortune.	A rare and valuable gift is offered and cannot be turned down; very good fortune
Line 6 (nine at the top)	Without decreasing, one adds benefit to others. No fault; staying firm brings good fortune; it is favorable to have somewhere to go; one gains helpers who belong to no single household.	Giving benefit without cutting back; steady and favorable to move on; you gain helpers who serve beyond any one family

Reading the Six Lines in Everyday Terms

The six lines of Hexagram 41 are a map of six ways to act when something has to be reduced: time, money, privileges, or habits. Each line offers a different hint on how to cut back well.

Line 1: Finish your own work, then go help. You are in a position to help someone, but you need to complete your own part first. The hexagram does not say "do not help." It says to weigh how much you give up. Giving too much while you are still unsteady makes it hard for both sides. Help enough, help at the right time, and keep yourself from running dry. That is a wise way to cut back.

To cast a hexagram and read the matching explanation right away, you can try HOROS.

Line 2: Staying steady, benefiting without cutting back. Sometimes the best way to help others is to hold your own position and do your own part well, with no need to sacrifice anything more. The hexagram warns that pushing hard right now tends to go badly. Stay put and stick to the path you are on. Your stability is the biggest benefit you bring to the people around you.

Line 3: Three walk and one is lost; one walks and finds a friend. This is the best-known sentence in Hexagram 41. It says a group of three is one too many, prone to jealousy or splitting into sides, while a person walking alone will find the right companion. In daily life: if a relationship has three people in it (a love triangle, three partners in a business, three people deciding together), one has to go. Cut back to keep it tidy, and keep it tidy to make it last.

Line 4: Reducing flaws and bad habits. What most needs cutting back is not money or time but bad habits. A short temper, procrastination, greed, envy. When you reduce your flaws, the people around you are happier and you feel lighter. The hexagram says gladness comes quickly: results arrive fast when you cut back the right thing.

Line 5: A great gift that cannot be refused. This is the most beautiful line in the hexagram. When you know how to cut back, how to yield, and how to live without greed, good fortune tends to come on its own. Someone helps, a good chance appears, a rare gift arrives that you never asked for. The text says it "cannot be refused": this blessing comes because you deserve it, not because you begged for it.

Line 6: Benefiting others without cutting back. The last line shows the highest level of Decrease: a person who is strong enough does not need to give anything up and still brings benefit to those around them. Their influence spreads naturally, like water flowing to low ground. The hexagram closes with "gaining helpers who belong to no single household," meaning that trust has gone beyond personal gain.

What Hexagram 41 Says About Different Areas of Life

Love

Casting Hexagram 41 often points to a relationship that needs giving way or accepting a small loss. It could mean yielding on an opinion, easing the ego, or accepting that the other person is not perfect. The hexagram does not say to break up. It says that if you want to keep it, you have to know how to cut back. If you are angry with a partner over something small, stop and ask yourself whether the reason is real or only wounded pride. A lasting love is not one where nothing is lost, but one that knows what to let go.

Career

On career, Hexagram 41 suggests this is a time to streamline. Cut back on tasks that do not matter, on work contacts that do not pay off, on projects running side by side with none getting finished. If you are carrying too much, the hexagram says that you may only be able to run once you set some of it down. If you are torn between two directions, pick one and drop one. Line 3 is clear: three walk and one is lost. When things are tidy you can move forward; when they are tangled you stand still.

Money

On money, Hexagram 41 often suggests that in this stretch there may be less money, but cutting back in the right places does no harm. Spending on learning, on family, and on things that build your life is a reduction that carries value. Spending on appearances, on a passing urge, and on things you do not need is plain waste. The hexagram reminds you that two small baskets are enough for the offering: you do not need much, only the right thing. Saving at the right time is a way to be well off for the long run.

Health

On health, Hexagram 41 is best read through daily routine and rest. It suggests the body and mind may need less: fewer late nights, less overeating, less stress. Line 4 says that when you reduce your flaws, gladness comes quickly. If there is a habit that does not suit your daily rhythm, this is a good time to set it down. You do not need to change your whole lifestyle at once; just cut back one thing you know clearly you should not keep doing. When you cut back the right thing, you may feel lighter fast.

Closing Thought: Setting Down What Is Heavy

If the spirit of this hexagram had to be put in one phrase, it would be the "curbing anger and blocking desire" of the Image: reduce anger and put greed to rest. It sounds simple, but those are the two hardest things for people to cut back. Hexagram 41 is not about loss. It is about choosing on your own to put down what is heavy so you can walk lighter. There are stretches that call for adding and stretches that call for cutting back. Knowing which one you are in is wisdom.