The Minor Sixth
Hunger, Desire—5:8
The inverse of a Major Third is a Minor Sixth. This poignant dyad sounds stretched and lonesome—a little sweet, a little sad. It wants home, or perhaps what was, or a feeling once had. It is strongly aligned with the emotions; it wistfully aches.
In a casting, the longing the Minor Sixth represents can be misty and overly sentimental or passionate in its hunger. It needn’t, however, represent only a hunger for something we are attached to; it might point to a longing for something we deeply know or are; it might be an echo of our heart’s true desire.
In the active suit of Brass, the hermeneutic for the Minor Sixth is seeking; in the emotional suit of Strings, longing; in the intellectual suit of Woodwinds, curiosity; in the physical suit of Percussion, neediness; and in the spiritual, holistic suit of Voices, avocation.