41 Decreasing or Concentrating [lit., & met.] In a context of self-reflection we utilise discernment

Trigrams : self-reflection (bottom), discernment (top) : with/from self-reflection comes discernment. [mountain over lake]

The mud from which 41 has emerged is best described by analogy to the under-stated qualities of hexagram 07, uniforming.

Commentary :

In hexagram 41 there is a double meaning implied, which is brought out by the term 'Reduce'. The hexagram implies, in a social context, the concentration of richness and poorness; the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. At the same time this is applied to the individual as combining selectivity with self reflection, and the act of taking a step back to reconsider something. All of this corresponds with the concepts of lessening or diminishing, since concentrating something implies lessening or diminishing something else. Contextually, we move from uniforming to standardizing and thus reduction.

This duality is perhaps seen more if we make the interpretive distinction of opposition versus cooperation.

The oppositional form gives this hexagram a reductionist flavour but in a deteriorating sense.

The cooperative form gives this hexagram a reductionist flavour but with a qualitative refinement; a distillation.

Five Phase Relationships : The trigram of Lake reflects cooperative exchange. The trigram of Mountain reflects Filtration-through-discernment. Cooperative Exchange expressed through Filtration is expressed as concentration, distillation.

Goal of 41 - hexagram 04 (or 'how do I 04? - 41')

41 is the goal of 52 (or 'how do I 41? - 52' How do I concentrate/distill/purify? By being discerning, blocking the 'rubbish' and only allowing-in the quality material)

The I Ching tells us about hexagram 41:

There are often debates in the more traditional circles of whether a hexagram is to be interpreted as negative or positive. The truth of the matter is that each hexagram, being general in meaning, is both positive and negative with consciousness acting as the final arbiter in fitting a hexagram to a context.

An often confused form of interpretation is found with hexagram 41, interpreted in the more traditional texts as 'decrease' where such is considered negative. However, with the EIC analysis of the properties of the I Ching and its hexagrams we find that hexagram 41 covers decrease in the sense of distillation, concentration, and the possible failings of such. In other words there is an air of alchemy present where a focus on distilling a pure form can fail and so leave 'sludge' as it can succeed in leaving a lesser, more concentrated, purer, form.

We can identify the mud or clay from which hexagram 41 has emerged by XORing it with 27. This gives us the description of the skeletal form of 41 as characteristics of hexagram 07 with its focus on establishing uniformity (the social example being an Army - all dressed, in general, the same). Thus we see a focus on all parts of 'something' being made indistinguishable and so 'pure'; a concentrated 'force' (as far as an army is concerned).

the reverse here is in interpreting the 41-ness of hexagram 27 and this is the same hexagram, 07, giving us the description of how the infrastructure, the skeletal form, manifests distillation - it does so in the form of uniformity in structure (which is what a skeleton IS - all bone).

Another example is with hexagram 23, pruning. XORing 23 with 41 gives us hexagram 19. Hexagram 19 covers deference, the rising of the low and deference to such of the high - a mix of approach and deference. Thus in hexagram 23, the act of pruning manifests the distillation process in the form of balancing-out relationships and so becoming 'one' - the high and low mix even if only temporarily. Below is the table presenting the full spectrum of hexagram 41:

Some PAIRINGS of hexagram 41 with other hexagrams:

• In the binary sequence hexagram 41 pairs with hexagram 19.

In this pairing is reflected a general sense of concentration, distillation, and so of 'bringing together' to create a 'pure form'. In 41 the focus is on the 'alchemical' perspective,a clear sense of differentiating, whereas in 19 the perspective is more integrating, as given in the analogy to approaching the high, and the high deferring to the low. Note that any form of alchemy will 'fail' if not done correctly and all that is left is 'worthless' and so the extension of the meanings of 41 into 'bad luck', 'spoil', etc etc.

• In the binary sequence hexagram 41 opposes hexagram 31.

At the LOCAL level we are dealing with hexagrams with a base of LAKE, in particular the linking of hexagram 41 with 58. Here we find that the sharp, exaggerated, focus on cooperative exchange reflected in 58 is reflected in a more balanced format by the focus in 41 upon concentration, of distillation of differences into one 'pure' form.

• In the traditional sequence hexagram 41 pairs with hexagram 42.

REFINE:

41 : refine - through distill [concentrate]; 41 concentrating comes from a context described by hexagram 07 - uniforming, the army

42 : refine - through augment [add]; 42 augmenting comes from a context described by hexagram 08 - unifying

• In the traditional sequence hexagram 41 opposes hexagram 24.

• The generic properties of hexagram 41 reflect the mixing of the generic properties of hexagram 19 with the generic properties of hexagram 07.

A combination of 'approaching the high, deferring to the low' (19) with a focus on uniformity (07) is reflected in hexagram 41's focus upon concentration, distillation.

• In the variations on a theme sequence, hexagram 41 complements hexagram 04.

Both hexagrams 04 and 41 reflect forms of 'refinement' where 04 reflects a focus on particular education of the young as a form of socialisation and 41 reflects this refinement process as an act of distillation, of concentrating 'raw' to make the 'refined', the 'pure'. As such, 04 is more 'social' oriented, 41 more 'personally' oriented. Note that in the realm of alchemy, a concept fundamental to early I Ching prose and Taoism in general, the failure in generating a 'pure' form is a heap of 'junk' and so the symbol of 41 also reflects 'decrease' in the form of something useless, damaged, spoilt.

Copyright © 2003-2009 C. J. Lofting