Hexagram 33, line 2
六二Line 2 of Withdrawal
Six in the second place · 遯 dùn
爻辭 The line text
執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。The second line, divided, shows its subject holding (his purpose) fast as if by a (thong made from the) hide of a yellow ox, which cannot be broken.
執用黃牛，固志也。'He holds it as by (a thong from the hide of) a yellow ox:'—his purpose is firm.
In plain words
Bound with the hide of a yellow ox, and nothing can loosen it. Yellow is the colour of the centre and the ox is the docile animal; line two is yin, central and correct, the one line in the lower trigram that properly corresponds to the ruler at five. In a time of withdrawal it does not flee and it does not pursue — it holds. The small Image says simply 'the purpose is firm' (固志). Commentators read the thong as the bond between the loyal minister and the retiring lord, or as a settled resolve that the growing pressure below cannot untie.
If this line is changing
Hold to the commitment or the person you have chosen with quiet, unshowy firmness; what is tied with the yellow ox's hide does not need to be argued for.
Where the line stands
- A broken line, yin — written 六 (six), the number of an old yin line that moves when cast.
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands.
- It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
- It belongs to the lower trigram 艮 Gen (Keeping Still) (mountain).
- It corresponds (應) with line 5: one yin and one yang, the two lines answer each other across the hexagram.
之卦 When this line moves
遯 Withdrawal becomes ䷫ 44 姤 Encounter
Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
What it becomes44 · 姤 EncountergòuThe six lines of 遯 Withdrawal
- 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
Read 遯 Withdrawal for a question about
Questions about this line
- What does Six in the second place of hexagram 33, Withdrawal, mean?
- Bound with the hide of a yellow ox, and nothing can loosen it. Yellow is the colour of the centre and the ox is the docile animal; line two is yin, central and correct, the one line in the lower trigram that properly corresponds to the ruler at five. In a time of withdrawal it does not flee and it does not pursue — it holds. The small Image says simply 'the purpose is firm' (固志). Commentators read the thong as the bond between the loyal minister and the retiring lord, or as a settled resolve that the growing pressure below cannot untie.
- What does hexagram 33 become when line 2 changes?
- Withdrawal becomes hexagram 44, 姤 Encounter: Wind under heaven: one yin line arriving beneath five yang. An encounter — the woman is strong; do not marry her. Something small and tempting enters; watch it from the start.
- Is line 2 of Withdrawal in its correct place?
- It is in its correct place (當位): a yang line in an odd position or a yin line in an even one, which the tradition reads as a line at ease where it stands. It is central (中): the middle line of its trigram, the position the commentaries read as balanced and most favourable.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).