Hexagram 33 for work
Hexagram 33 Withdrawal for work and career
In work Dun describes a time when the ground is shifting under you: a project, an office or a market where petty interests are gaining and the serious people are quietly withdrawing. The Judgment promises success — 'in retreating there is success', says the commentary — but only 'small advantage in steadiness', because what is growing cannot be stopped head-on, only outlasted. The Great Image is the working rule: keep your distance from what is corrosive without declaring war on it.
The lines grade the retreat by position. At the bottom, line one is too late and too weak to run and is told to keep still; line two holds its ground and its loyalties; line three is tied down by dependants and should confine itself to small matters. In the upper trigram the retreats grow freer: four leaves what it likes, five retires in good order from a strong position, six goes without a backward glance. A changing line below counsels patience; one above counsels making the exit well.
The hexagram in brief
Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
Withdraw early and gracefully, keeping distance from the petty without hatred; a good retreat preserves what matters.
The judgment
遯：亨，小利貞。Thun indicates successful progress (in its circumstances). To a small extent it will (still) be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 遯 Withdrawal has its own page:
- 初六Six at the beginningthe tail · too late to run · stay still
- 六二Six in the second placeyellow ox hide · holding fast · unbreakable bond
- 九三Nine in the third placeentangled retreat · exhaustion · small matters only
- 九四Nine in the fourth placeretreat from what one loves · the superior person · letting go
- 九五Nine in the fifth placeadmirable retreat · right timing · correct purpose
- 上九Nine at the topample retreat · nothing holds you · no doubts
The same hexagram for
Questions
- What does hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean for a career question?
- In work Dun describes a time when the ground is shifting under you: a project, an office or a market where petty interests are gaining and the serious people are quietly withdrawing. The Judgment promises success — 'in retreating there is success', says the commentary — but only 'small advantage in steadiness', because what is growing cannot be stopped head-on, only outlasted. The Great Image is the working rule: keep your distance from what is corrosive without declaring war on it.
- What does Hexagram 33, 遯 Withdrawal, mean?
- Heaven withdrawing from the mountain: retreat in good time. Yin grows, and the wise step back with dignity — success through retreat, small advantage in persevering.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).