Dun, nine in the fourth placeHexagram 33, line 4 · Dun (Retreat) · changing to 53
The line
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.
The Image commentary on this line
君子好遯，小人否也。
The noble one is "retreating from what one is fond of"; "for the petty person, not so."
The small Image commentary is the earliest explanation of the line texts. It usually explains a line from its position: where it stands, whether it holds the center, and which line answers it.
Verdict
吉Favorable. This text describes a good outcome. Act the way it says and the matter can succeed. The promise has a condition: keep to the right course.
How to read good fortune, misfortune, regret, humiliation and no blame →
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- You actually like this position and these people, but the situation has turned. If you can let go cleanly and leave with dignity, that is good. The condition is that you can master yourself and not keep putting it off because you can't bear to leave.
- Love
- There is someone, or some connection, you can't let go of, and you know it is not right. If you can harden your heart and pull out cleanly, that is good. It takes self-control; if you keep hanging on by a thread, you won't manage it.
- Money
- An opportunity you have your eye on, a way of spending you enjoy: once you know it is wrong, you can drop it on the spot, and that is good. People who can master themselves manage it; if you talk about cutting back while your hands keep spending, you won't.
This is how to read it when this is the only changing line. With several changing lines, first see which text governs; for the hexagram as a whole, see Dun.
Line position
A yang line in a yin place: it is not in its proper place. Its partner is the first line, which is its opposite, so the two answer each other.
Fourth place: next to the ruler, a place of caution. Serve those above with care.
When you get this line
If this is the only changing line in your cast (three backs, old yang), this line is your answer. The primary hexagram is Dun (Retreat); when this line changes it becomes Jian (Gradual Progress): hexagram 33 changing to 53.
Which text to read with several changing lines →
Resulting hexagram · Jian (Gradual Progress)
Go in order, one step at a time, and the outcome will be good.