Retreat
遯Dun
No. 33 · Heaven over Mountain
Dun (Retreat)
Petty forces are gaining ground, and the noble person needs to pick the right moment to step back. Leaving early and leaving well is how you keep yourself intact.
Cast your own hexagramDun (Retreat) is the time to step back. Unfavorable forces around you are getting stronger, and holding out tends to get you hurt. Pull back in time and keep your strength intact, and things tend to go better. Protect yourself first; chances come later.
Favorable
- Get out early
- Keep your strength in reserve
- Keep petty people at arm's length
- Part on good terms
Avoid
- Being the last to leave
- Clinging to a position
- Burning bridges
- Charging ahead to prove a point
Work and money
- Job search
- The winds have shifted at work and petty people are gaining ground, so it is a poor time to chase a promotion or prove yourself. Quietly update your resume. The Image says no hatred, yet stern: leave without a scene, and without giving in.
- Business
- Unfavorable for expanding, opening a new location or taking a big contract. Pull capital and staff back to your core. The third line finds good fortune in keeping one's household staff: look after the few people close to you, and leave big moves alone.
- Money
- A time to cut back, pull out and hold more cash, not to add or expand. Protect the gains you already have.
Love and people
- Single
- Not a time to pursue hard; the more you chase, the faster they tend to back away. If someone leaves you uneasy, step out early and put your energy back into yourself.
- In a relationship
- If they keep getting more domineering while you keep giving way, Dun (Retreat) says to put distance in place and protect yourself, politely but firmly. If it's just a passing clash, take a few days apart to cool off, then talk.
- Getting back together
- The odds are low. Chasing them now is the first line, retreating at the tail, where the last in line is most exposed. Stop contacting them and let both of you step back. If something really changes later, revisit it then.
- People and partnerships
- If someone in the group is forming cliques or grabbing credit, keep your distance and work with them less. No need for a public break. The fourth line favors the one who can walk away from what they like.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Dun (Retreat) means stepping back to make room. Instead of grinding on problems beyond your level, go back to the basic chapters and rebuild. Feel free to leave a study group that only distracts you.
- Moving and travel
- Leaving is built into Dun (Retreat), so moving out of a bad place or getting away for air both suit. When you go, go cleanly: settle the bills and return what you borrowed in one sweep.
- Body and mind
- When you're worn out, step back and rest rather than pushing on. Keep away from people and places that drain you and give yourself some quiet time. If poor sleep or a run-down feeling won't lift, book a doctor's appointment.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- What you're waiting for is likely to be delayed, or to arrive in a different form than you hoped. Rather than waiting idly, make a backup plan or plan an exit. Once you step back, the picture gets clearer.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- A poor time to fight it out; the other side has momentum, and dragging on tends to cost you more. Settle or withdraw if you can and cap the losses. Even a retreat should be negotiated; don't concede for nothing.
- Lost things and people
- Fairly unlikely; it may already have been carried off. Qian (Heaven) above is high places, round things and metal; Gen (Mountain) below is stony corners and the door. Check the tops of tall cabinets, metal boxes and the corners by the door.
Making a decision
Put any new push on hold. Pull back what you can, trim what you can, and guard carefully whatever is still in play.
If you are…
Both sides are recruiting, and backing the wrong one can get you pushed out. Dun (Retreat) says step outside the fight: talk only about the work, pick no side, and get your resume ready. If it really turns, leave while you can still do it gracefully.
Saying no is hard every time, and the money never comes back. Dun (Retreat) asks you to step back without a falling-out: stay polite, make the boundary clear, and stop lending from now on. No need for a fight over it.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
亨。小利貞。
Retreat brings success. For the small, steadfastness pays: the petty side should stay correct and not press in while it has the upper hand.
Heaven over Mountain: Qian (Heaven) above, Gen (Mountain) below. A mountain stands under heaven; as the mountain rises, heaven draws back. The two yin lines below are growing upward and the yang lines have to withdraw, so it is called Dun (Retreat).
Six at the beginning
遯尾，厲，勿用有攸往。
Retreating at the tail. Danger. Do not set out anywhere.
Everyone else has pulled out and you are still at the back; the last one out is most exposed. Start nothing new now. Stay low-key and handle things quietly; that is how you stay clear of trouble.
Small Image: 遯尾之厲，不往何災也。
Six in the second place
執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。
Held fast with yellow oxhide. No one can loosen it.
Hold your position as if bound with oxhide cord, unmoved however others try to talk you round. Whether you retreat or hold, decide clearly and then stick to it.
Small Image: 執用黃牛，固志也。
Nine in the third place
係遯，有疾厲，畜臣妾吉。
A retreat held back by ties. Illness and danger. Keeping servants and maids brings good fortune.
You want out, but obligations and favors hold you there, and dragging it out tends to wear you down. For now, only small things close to home suit, like looking after family or your own staff. Leave big matters alone.
Small Image: 係遯之厲，有疾憊也。畜臣妾吉，不可大事也。
Nine in the fourth place
好遯，君子吉，小人否。
Retreating from what one loves. Good fortune for the noble person; the petty person cannot.
There is something you hate to give up, a title or a relationship, but once you see the situation clearly you can let it go cleanly. Doing that is favorable; those who can't let go tend to stay dragged along.
Small Image: 君子好遯，小人否也。
Nine in the fifth place
嘉遯，貞吉。
A fine retreat. Steadfastness brings good fortune.
The timing is right and the way you leave is graceful; you can account for it to everyone inside and out. Keep to your principles and close things out properly, and it is favorable.
Small Image: 嘉遯貞吉，以正志也。
Nine at the top
肥遯，无不利。
Retreat at ease, with room to spare. Nothing is unfavorable.
Nothing holds you anymore, so you can leave without hurry, like quitting on good terms or stepping out of a scene. Go far and go with an easy mind; nothing is unfavorable.
Small Image: 肥遯，无不利；无所疑也。
遯亨，遯而亨也。剛當位而應，與時行也。小利貞，浸而長也。遯之時義大矣哉！
Dun (Retreat) brings success: it is by retreating that success comes. The firm line holds its proper place in the fifth and has a partner in the second below; it moves with the time. For the small, steadfastness pays, because yin is creeping in and growing. Great indeed is the meaning of Dun in its proper time.
The Image天下有山，遯；君子以遠小人，不惡而嚴。
A mountain beneath heaven: this is Dun (Retreat). The noble person, seeing this, keeps petty people at a distance, showing no hatred, yet staying stern.
The Sequence: why it comes here物不可以久居其所，故受之以遯；遯者退也。
Nothing can stay in one place forever. After Heng (Duration), long lasting, change always comes, so Heng is followed by Dun (Retreat). Dun means withdrawing.
Miscellaneous Notes大壯則止，遯則退也。
Da Zhuang (Great Power) means stopping; Dun (Retreat) means withdrawing. Traditional commentaries read it this way: in Da Zhuang the right way is strong and the petty must halt; in Dun the petty are growing and the noble person steps aside. The two are each other turned upside down, and so are their situations.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Dun mean for love?
Not a time to pursue hard; the more you chase, the faster they tend to back away. If someone leaves you uneasy, step out early and put your energy back into yourself. If they keep getting more domineering while you keep giving way, Dun (Retreat) says to put distance in place and protect yourself, politely but firmly. If it's just a passing clash, take a few days apart to cool off, then talk.
What does Dun mean for work?
The winds have shifted at work and petty people are gaining ground, so it is a poor time to chase a promotion or prove yourself. Quietly update your resume. The Image says no hatred, yet stern: leave without a scene, and without giving in. When the direction at your company or team has soured and petty people are running things, keep your distance and prepare an exit, even consider moving on. Stay out of the infighting, and there is no need for a blowup.
With Dun, will what I am waiting for come?
What you're waiting for is likely to be delayed, or to arrive in a different form than you hoped. Rather than waiting idly, make a backup plan or plan an exit. Once you step back, the picture gets clearer.
With Dun, will I find what I lost?
Fairly unlikely; it may already have been carried off. Qian (Heaven) above is high places, round things and metal; Gen (Mountain) below is stony corners and the door. Check the tops of tall cabinets, metal boxes and the corners by the door.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.