Hexagram 33
Retreat
Heaven over Mountain
The judgment
亨。小利贞The mountain stands under heaven and the small lines are rising from below. Withdrawal is the strong move here, and the cost of waiting is that leaving gets harder as the ground narrows.
The image
Heaven pulls away from the mountain and the distance grows without noise. Leaving in good order keeps the force intact.
The six lines
Read from the bottom up. A line that moves is read here, and read again in the hexagram it becomes.
- 初六Line 1
遁尾，厉，勿用有攸往
Leaving last, still packing while others are gone; starting now only deepens the disadvantage.
Marked in the textdanger
- 六二Line 2
执之用黄牛之革，莫之胜说
Held fast as if bound with leather cord, unable to move because one thing remains unfinished.
- 九三Line 3
系遁，有疾厉，畜臣妾吉
Wanting out yet tethered, dragging a sickly attachment; settle those who depend on you before pulling away.
Marked in the textdangerauspicious
- 九四Line 4
好遁君子吉，小人否
At the point of withdrawal you can still choose: keep what you love, release the rest, and the measure is yours.
Marked in the textauspicious
- 九五Line 5
嘉遁，贞吉
A composed retreat, position and timing aligned, leaving without tearing anything apart.
Marked in the textauspicious
- 上九Line 6
肥遁，无不利
Retreating to the farthest edge brings ease; with nothing worth staying for, little is left to lose.
Marked in the textnothing works against it
Where each changing line leads
Flip one line and it is a different hexagram. These are the six it becomes.
This page is for reference. To get a hexagram from six throws, cast your own.
The classical text is the Zhouyi, public domain, checked against a Wikisource transcript. The readings are ours. Daily hexagram