Hexagram 33 as yes or no
Hexagram 33 Withdrawal as a yes-or-no answer
Dun answers a 'should I go ahead' question with a clear no, and a 'should I step back' question with a clear yes. Its whole image is withdrawal in good time — heaven receding above the mountain — and the Judgment's success is the success of retreating well, not of pressing on. What the hexagram adds is that retreat has a right way: with dignity rather than resentment, and before one is caught.
The changing line sets the manner. In the lower trigram the answer is 'withdraw, but carefully': line one says do not move at all, line two says hold what you have and let the rest go, line three says you cannot leave entirely, so keep to small matters. In the upper trigram the answer is 'withdraw, and do it well': line four means leaving something you like, five means an orderly, admirable exit, and six means going freely with nothing to regret. If you were asking whether to advance, the only line that leaves room is two, and only for holding, not advancing.
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
- Does hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean yes or no?
- Dun answers a 'should I go ahead' question with a clear no, and a 'should I step back' question with a clear yes. Its whole image is withdrawal in good time — heaven receding above the mountain — and the Judgment's success is the success of retreating well, not of pressing on. What the hexagram adds is that retreat has a right way: with dignity rather than resentment, and before one is caught.
- 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).