遯Dun · Retreat
In one sentence
It is time to withdraw. Withdraw in time and you will be fine.
Bad forces are rising bit by bit. The situation is against you, but it has not yet reached its worst. Step away gracefully and keep your distance from the wrong people — no need to fall out with them; staying firm and upright is enough. Small matters can still be done. Leave the big ones alone.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The environment is against you right now, and it is getting worse bit by bit. This is no time to fight for a position or take on a big project. Step back gracefully and keep your distance from the wrong people. No need to fall out with anyone; doing your own small duties well is enough. Retreat in time, and the road actually opens.
- Love
- In this relationship, what is wrong is slowly rising. If it is time to pull out, pull out. No need to fight and no need for an ugly break; just hold your boundaries firmly. If you are single, keep your distance from anyone who feels wrong to you, and do not move closer just because you are lonely.
- Money
- This is a time to pull in, not to push forward. Do not move large sums and do not take on big deals; small things you can see clearly are still fine. Separate your money clearly from unreliable people, and get out in time, before things reach their worst.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsWhen it is time to withdraw, withdraw; once you step back, the way actually opens. The side that is gaining ground should also stay true, and not use its momentum to press others.
The Tuan commentary
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, "success": one retreats, and so there is success. The firm is in its proper place and is answered; it moves with the time. "For the small, it is favorable to stay true": they are seeping in and growing. Great indeed is the meaning of the time of Dun.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
天下有山，遯。君子以遠小人，不惡而嚴。
Mountain beneath heaven: Dun (Retreat). The noble one keeps petty people at a distance, not with hatred but with sternness.
The lines
Six at the beginning
Text遯尾，厲。勿用有攸往。The tail of the retreat. Danger. Do not go anywhere.In plain wordsYou mean to withdraw, but you have ended up at the very back. Dangerous. Do not head anywhere now; hide, wait quietly, and you can escape harm. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。Bind it with yellow ox hide. No one can loosen it.In plain wordsTie it with a cord of yellow ox hide that no one can undo. The resolve to withdraw is this firm; nobody can shake it. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text係遯，有疾厲。畜臣妾吉。A retreat held back by ties. There is sickness and danger. Keeping servants and maids brings good fortune.In plain wordsIt is time to leave, yet you are held back by attachments, as if you had fallen ill. Dangerous. At a time like this you are fit only to handle the small things close at hand and look after the people around you; do not plan anything big. More on this line →
Nine in the fourth place
Text好遯，君子吉，小人否。Retreating from what one is fond of. For the noble one, good fortune; for the petty person, not so.In plain wordsThere is something you are fond of, yet you can cut it off cleanly and walk away. Those who can master themselves manage it: good fortune. Those who cannot, fail. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text嘉遯，貞吉。An admirable retreat. Staying true brings good fortune.In plain wordsA beautiful withdrawal, done at just the right point. Stay true: good fortune. More on this line →
Nine at the top
Text肥遯，无不利。A retreat in ease and plenty. Nothing that is not favorable.In plain wordsYou withdraw far away, broad of heart, relaxed and unhurried. Nothing that is not favorable. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Dun belongs to the second pentad of Major Heat, “The earth is damp, the air heavy” (July 28 to August 1, 2027). It is also one of the twelve sovereign hexagrams, standing for the sixth month of the traditional calendar: two yin lines below, as yin grows and yang withdraws.
The twelve sovereign hexagrams → The 24 solar terms, 72 pentads and their hexagrams →