The judgement
It is hexagram 41 of the I Ching, formed by the Lake trigram below and the Mountain one above: six lines, three for each trigram. Decrease: take weight from yourself in order to increase what counts. Sincerity is worth more than rich gifts.
Trigrams
- Lower
- 兌 Lake
- Upper
- 艮 Mountain
What it means today
Take away time, expense, ego, commitments. What remains is truer. Decrease is an art, not a punishment.
Classic image
Mountain below, lake. The wise person contains anger and checks impulses, so decrease stays clean.
Love
In love, less theater, more presence. A small sincere gift beats a performance.
Work
At work, cut scope, meetings, vanity. Quality rises when volume falls.
Relationships
In relationships, reduce pretensions. Ask less; offer clean attention.
Decisions
Choose what to cut. If you cut the essential to save the image, you have understood it backwards.
Related hexagrams
Frequently asked questions
- What does hexagram 41 Decrease represent?
- Decrease combines Lake (lower) and Mountain (upper). It is a symbolic key for reflecting on the present moment.
- How do I get a personalized reading?
- Use the interactive oracle with the three-coin method: moving lines make each consultation unique.
- Does this page quote Wilhelm?
- No. The text is original prose by the Aurapure team — not a specific classical translation.
- What are moving lines?
- Lines valued 6 or 9 in the cast. They show where the situation is changing and produce a second hexagram.
- How is the figure read?
- Bottom to top. The lower trigram is lines 1–3, the upper is lines 4–6.