ASK ROASTIE

BAD ADVICE. GOOD TIMING.

HEXAGRAM 41 OF 64 MOUNTAIN OVER LAKE

DECREASE

損 Sǔn

decrease, sacrifice, simplicity, giving from below, less that is enough

ROASTIE

Decrease. The Lake drained to build up the Mountain, sacrifice, less that is enough. The book says two bowls will do for the offering. You've been running on two bowls for years, pal, and calling it minimalism. It's not simplicity when it's involuntary. It's a budget. Ya roasted!

THE JUDGMENT

With sincerity, great good fortune and no mistake; firmness profits, and it is good to have somewhere to go. Two small baskets suffice for the offering.

THE LINES, BOTTOM TO TOP

  1. Line 1 Finishes his own task and hurries off to help; no mistake; but weigh how much to give.
  2. Line 2 Firmness profits; going forward brings misfortune; help others without diminishing yourself.
  3. Line 3 Three walk together and lose one; one walks alone and finds a companion.
  4. Line 4 Decreases his faults, and others hurry to bring him joy; no mistake.
  5. Line 5 Someone gives him ten pairs of tortoise shells, and nothing can refuse it; great good fortune.
  6. Line 6 Increases others without decreasing himself; no mistake; firmness brings good fortune; he gains servants, but no house of his own.
THROW YOUR OWN ALL SIXTY-FOUR

Text: the I Ching, after James Legge's 1882 translation, public domain, trimmed into plain English. The take: a coffee bean, licensed in nothing.