Retreat
Heaven (乾 Qián) above, Mountain (艮 Gèn) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 33, 遯 (Dùn), represents Retreat.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 33 (遯 Dùn). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/dun). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
遯：亨，小利貞。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Success. In small matters, steadfastness is fruitful.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
天下有山,遁。君子以远小人,不恶而严。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) the sky and below it that for a mountain form Thun. The superior man, in accordance with this, keeps small men at a distance, not by showing that he hates them, but by his own dignified gravity.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初六：遯尾，厲，勿用有攸往。
James Legge: The first SIX, divided, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。
James Legge: The second SIX, 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.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：係遯，有疾厲，畜臣妾吉。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, shows one retiring but bound,—to his distress and peril. (If he were to deal with his binders as in) nourishing a servant or concubine, it would be fortunate for him.
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
九四：好遯，君子吉，小人否。
James Legge: The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring notwithstanding his likings. In a superior man this will lead to good fortune; a small man cannot attain to this.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
九五：嘉遯，貞吉。
James Legge: The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上九：肥遯，无不利。
James Legge: The sixth NINE, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
Retreat can prompt a careful question about disengagement: what would withdrawing well look like here — early, deliberate, without bitterness? The image of heaven receding from the mountain reads here as the figure's own picture of yielding space at the right moment.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
This reflection advises quitting nothing and predicts nothing. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 33 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.