損 → 遯
Hexagram 41: Decrease → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 5 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初九 已事遄往。无咎。酌損之。
Nine at the beginning means: Going quickly when one's tasks are finished Is without blame. But one must reflect on how much one may decrease others.
Line 2
九二 利貞。征凶。弗損益之。
Nine in the second place means: Perseverance furthers. To undertake something brings misfortune. Without decreasing oneself, One is able to bring increase to others.
Line 3
六三 三人行。則損一人。一人行。則得其友。
Six in the third place means: When three people journey together, Their number decreases by one. When one man journeys alone, He finds a companion.
Line 4
六四 損其疾。使遄有喜。无咎。
Six in the fourth place means: If a man deceases his faults, It makes the other hasten to come and rejoice. No blame.
Line 5
六五 或益之十朋之龜。弗克違。元吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Someone does indeed increase him. Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Supreme good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
天之所予，福祿常在，不憂危殆。
Pines and cypresses stay green in all four seasons; Mount Tai has not moved in a thousand years. Heaven sends sweet rain to nourish dry timber — with deep roots, why fear the storm's blast?
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Mountain above lake yields to heaven above mountain — Retreat, where the gentleman distances himself from petty forces. The original verse reads simply: 'What heaven bestows, fortune and blessing abide forever, free from worry or peril.' This is unconditional assurance: divine favor that requires no action, no vigilance, no effort to sustain. From Decrease to Retreat, the lake beneath the mountain evaporates, leaving heaven resting above the mountain in serene distance. Retreat's strength is precisely this: withdrawing not in fear but in confidence that what heaven grants cannot be taken by human grasping. Decrease has removed the need for defense; Retreat secures the blessing by placing it beyond the reach of interference.
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