I Ching · King Wen 33
Hexagram 33: Retreat
䷠ 遯 Dùn · also called Withdrawal, Retiring, Yielding · The Creative above Keeping Still
A timely, dignified withdrawal: strength stepping back before it is forced to, with its integrity intact.
withdrawaltimingdignitydistancestrategy
The meaning of Hexagram 33
Mountain below, heaven above: heaven receding from the mountain. Two yin lines are entering at the bottom and rising; the strong lines above withdraw in good order. Retreat is not flight. The tradition's judgement is that retreat succeeds, and that persistence in small things furthers. The reading describes a situation in which the lesser is gaining ground and the right response is not to fight it head-on but to withdraw with dignity, keeping one's distance and one's standards, and giving no ground in the small things that define who you are. Timing is everything: the retreat done early is a strategy; done late, it is a rout.
The image. The mountain under heaven; the wise person keeps the inferior at a distance, not with anger but with reserve.
- Advice
- Withdraw early, calmly and with reserve; hold your standards in the small things.
- Warning
- A retreat delayed until it is forced is a rout, and a retreat made in anger loses its dignity.
over
Structure: ☶ Keeping Still (Mountain) below, ☰ The Creative (Heaven) above. Nuclear hexagram 44, Coming to Meet. Every line reversed: 19, Approach.
Hexagram 33 for love and relationships
Step back. Not a break, a withdrawal from a dynamic that is not serving you, done calmly and without anger. Keep your dignity and your small standards. Distance now may be what preserves the relationship later.
Hexagram 33 for career
The environment is turning against you and confrontation would lose. Withdraw strategically: reduce exposure, keep your work impeccable in small things, and do not engage the people who are gaining ground. Retreat early and it is a choice.
Hexagram 33 for money
Reduce exposure. Pull back from positions that are going wrong while you still can do it on your own terms. Persistence in small, careful matters is favoured; large moves are not.
Hexagram 33 for decisions
Choose the option that lets you step back in good order. The reading is against fighting the rising tide and equally against retreating so late that it becomes a collapse. Withdraw while it is still a decision.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
Cheerful retreat. Everything furthers.
The retreat completed with a light heart, by someone who is entirely clear about the situation and has no doubt about leaving it. Detachment that is not bitterness. The line is the hexagram's best.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 31, Influence. Read line 6 →
Friendly retreat. Persistence brings good fortune.
A withdrawal made gracefully and at the right moment, without resentment on either side. The friendliness is real, and so is the resolve underneath it; the line asks for both.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 56, The Wanderer. Read line 5 →
Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior person and downfall to the inferior.
Withdrawing by choice, with the composure to let go of what one leaves behind. The worthy person can do this; the petty cannot, and cling, and fall. The line marks the difference between retreat as strategy and retreat as loss.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 53, Development. Read line 4 →
A halted retreat is nerve-racking and dangerous. Keeping people as servants and maids brings good fortune.
The retreat is slowed by attachments and obligations, and the delay is dangerous. The line's counsel is to keep those dependants in a properly limited role, not to let them dictate the pace or the strategy.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 12, Standstill. Read line 3 →
Held fast with yellow oxhide. No one can tear him loose.
A bond of loyalty so firm that the retreat does not break it: someone who holds to a worthy person through the withdrawal. Yellow is the mean, oxhide the strongest binding. The line is about attachment that survives adversity.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet. Read line 2 →
At the tail of the retreat. Danger. Do not undertake anything.
Caught at the rear, closest to what is advancing, and in the most exposed position. The line says to stay completely still: any movement here draws attention. Danger, but survivable if nothing is attempted.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 13, Fellowship. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 33 mean?
- A timely, dignified withdrawal: strength stepping back before it is forced to, with its integrity intact. Mountain below, heaven above: heaven receding from the mountain. Two yin lines are entering at the bottom and rising; the strong lines above withdraw in good order. Retreat is not flight. The tradition's judgement is that retreat succeeds, and that persistence in small things furthers. The reading describes a situation in which the lesser is gaining ground and the right response is not to fight it head-on but to withdraw with dignity, keeping one's distance and one's standards, and giving no ground in the small things that define who you are. Timing is everything: the retreat done early is a strategy; done late, it is a rout.
- What does Hexagram 33 mean for love?
- Step back. Not a break, a withdrawal from a dynamic that is not serving you, done calmly and without anger. Keep your dignity and your small standards. Distance now may be what preserves the relationship later.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 33 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 13, Fellowship; line 2 gives Hexagram 44, Coming to Meet; line 3 gives Hexagram 12, Standstill; line 4 gives Hexagram 53, Development; line 5 gives Hexagram 56, The Wanderer; line 6 gives Hexagram 31, Influence. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 19, Approach.