巽 → 損
Hexagram 57: The Gentle Wind → Hexagram 41: Decrease
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 5).
Line 1
初六 進退。利武人之貞。
Six at the beginning means: In advancing and in retreating, The perseverance of a warrior furthers.
Line 3
九三 頻巽吝。
Nine in the third place means: Repeated penetration. Humiliation.
Line 5
九五 貞吉悔亡。无不利。无初有終。先庚三日。後庚三日。吉。
Nine in the fifth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse vanishes. Nothing that does not further. No beginning, but an end. Before the change, three days. After the change, three days. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
宜行賈市，所求必倍。戴喜抱子，與利為友。
Fit to trade and do business; every venture returns double. Wearing joy, embracing a child; keeping company with profit.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind upon wind transforms into mountain over lake: the Gentle becomes Decrease. Go forth to trade at market — your returns will surely double. Carry joy, embrace your child, and make profit your companion. The verse promises commercial success with almost startling directness: invest, and the returns will multiply; the trader comes home wealthy, holding both child and gain. From The Gentle to Decrease, the mountain towers above the lake, and the gentleman restrains anger and desire. The paradox of Decrease is that what is taken from below enriches above, and what is given away returns multiplied. The merchant who ventures capital into the market — accepting the decrease of investment — reaps the increase of doubled returns. Decrease, properly applied, is the mechanism of abundance.
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