yo
tyler
41

Sun :: Diminish

Allegiance : good fortune: divination :: Two offering vessels1 of food for the ancestors

損
䷨
6 :: first
Offerings made quickly. Pouring libations. No misfortune.
Unable to do something properly, you make a sincere but incomplete effort. When you lack resources or time, it is acceptable to abbreviate the formal protocols of ritual. Being pure of heart enhances the value of your gesture.
9 :: second
Auspicious to advance, but military expeditions are disastrous.
Not diminishing; increasing.
You are about to make an advanced step, but being confrontational will cause failure. Your attempt to destroy your enemies or diminish their power only enhances their position.
6 :: third
Three travel together. One is lost. The solitary one meets a friend.
Loss becomes a gain. Departing alone from a secure position, you discover new possibilities and make new friends.
9 :: fourth
Diminishing illness. Move quickly brings good fortune. Auspicious.
You have an opportunity to self-heal. Diminishing illness refers to ritual heal-ing. Abandoning a bad habit as it arises is more effective than taking medicine once you are sick. Move quickly to recognize and eliminate a new bad habit before illness or addiction take root.
9 :: fifth
The tortoise shells2 do not oppose. It is most auspicious.
The positive omen from a sacrificial rite of divination matches your premonition of inevitable success. You repeatedly receive positive auspices. Expressing graceful acceptance, in this case, is the only further requirement.
6 :: top
Not diminish; increase. Auspicious. Favorable when there is a place to go.
Gaining a servant not a home.
You are already in power but, to maintain it, clarity and austerity must be used. Be careful to enlist able helpers. Do not focus on the acquisition of objects. Good planning and competent helpers will keep you in power.
Image

Sun means diminish, but it also specifically refers to ritual offerings (food, wine, etc.) that transform into sacred substance (blessings from the ances-tors). True ritual sacrifice is a very powerful gesture of confidence and does not carry the usual sense of loss. Sun is also the image of dredging a lake to enhance the embankment.

Auspices

Favorable for progress, but success is not to be found immediately. Once you do succeed, stay clear-even austere. Enlist helpers to continue success.

Good for marriage, editing, thriftiness, restraint, and personal sacrifice.
Bad for pushing forward, travel, and accumulating luxuries.
Comment

Sun is about how sacrifice brings good fortune. It is also about the enlightened management of diminished resources and the transformation of reduced circumstances into an advantage. Sun is about attracting new resources into your life by eliminating inessentials. It is a time when recycling the trappings of success allows you to stay in power. It is when less is more.

Happiness in life is not measured by your accomplishments, your reputation or the things you possess. Life is a process--the way life is lived. The Zhouyi recommends over and over again that we be ready to welcome happiness that is not the product of planning, trickery or concerted effort. Giving away the rewards is a true expression of success.

Observe the world arising and diminishing as the natural resolution of fate.

Other Correspondences
Business: Temporary losses with eventual gains, hiring consultants, new ventures, and executive austerity.
Disharmonies: Anemia, eating disorders, and chronic fatigue.
Prognosis: Good. The patient's use of austerity and discipline (diet, rest) is more potent than medical treatments.