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I Ching · Hexagram 33 Retreat

Hexagram 33 for love and relationships: Retreat

遯 Dùn · Love & 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.

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.

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.

The changing lines, read for love and relationships

If your cast of Hexagram 33 had changing lines, these are what each one adds to a love question, and where each leads.

  1. Line 1 · changes into 13 Fellowship

    At the tail of the retreat. Danger. Do not undertake anything. You are exposed at the rear; do nothing and draw no attention.

  2. Line 2 · changes into 44 Coming to Meet

    Held fast with yellow oxhide. No one can tear him loose. Hold fast to the person worth holding to; that bond will not break.

  3. Line 3 · changes into 12 Standstill

    A halted retreat is nerve-racking and dangerous. Keeping people as servants and maids brings good fortune. Do not let obligations halt the retreat; keep them in their place and keep moving.

  4. Line 4 · changes into 53 Development

    Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior person and downfall to the inferior. Retreat by choice and let go cleanly.

  5. Line 5 · changes into 56 The Wanderer

    Friendly retreat. Persistence brings good fortune. Withdraw on good terms and do not waver about it.

  6. Line 6 · changes into 31 Influence

    Cheerful retreat. Everything furthers. Leave lightly; certainty about the retreat is what makes it cheerful.

Hexagram 33 in fullCareerMoneyA decision

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