Diminishing

 

For everything you have missed, you have gained something else;
and for everything you gain, you lose something else. –Emerson

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Hexagram 41

By: James Byrd

I.The Oracle 

A. Hexagram forty- one is Sun or Diminishing. Another interpretation is Decrease. The lower trigram is Dui: open, swamp or forest. The upper trigram is Gen: bound or mountain.      

   

B. The Judgment

   1. Decrease combined with sincerity 
       Brings about supreme good fortune
       Without blame. One may be persevering in this. 
   2. It furthers one to undertake something. How is this to be carried out?
       One may use two small bowls for the sacrifice.

C. The Image

  1. At the foot of the mountain, the lake:
      a) The image of Decrease.
      b) Thus the superior man controls his anger
           And restrains his instincts.

II. My interpretation 

A. "Diminishing"

There is as noted by this hexagram, loss, given the situation as it is. According to the conditions of the time, it is fitting that the strong should be diminished and that of the weak be strengthened. With this we are seeking equilibrium which will create harmony and freedom from errors, and above all, the superior man should without whim curb his desires and restrain his wrath.

One man walking alone is good because if one meets two others along the way there will be communications problems when it comes time to make crucial decisions on the furtherance of the way. One walking alone will not so much create doubt about his correctness.

Again, three men come one goes and find friends of his own liking who have no reservations about his motives, albeit if three friends arrive there will be cause for doubt due to the complexity of the friendships. 

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ReferencesByrd, James (2018) "The Future"Huang, Kerson, and Rosemary (1987). I Ching
Karcher, S. and Ritesema, R. (1995). I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change [The First Complete Translation with Concordance]
Legge, James (2012). The I Ching: The Book of Changes (Sacred Books of China: The Book of Changes)
Reifler, S. (1974) I Ching: The World's Oldest and Most Revered System of Fortune Telling
Van Over, R. (1971), I Ching
Wilhelm, R., and Baynes. C.F. (1967). The I Ching, or, Book of Changes (Bollingen Series XIX)
Wilhelm, Hellmut and Richard Wilhelm (1995). Understanding the I Ching

#mycal8

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