无妄 → 遯
Hexagram 25: Innocence → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 3).
Line 1
初九 无妄。往吉。
Nine at the beginning means: Innocent behavior brings good fortune.
Line 3
六三 无妄之災。或繫之牛。行人之得。邑人之災。
Six in the third place means: Undeserved misfortune. The cow that was tethered by someone Is the wanderer's gain, the citizen's loss.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
宮成立政，衣就缺袂。恭謙為衛，終無禍尤。
The palace is built, governance established; the robe is finished yet the sleeve cut short. Reverence and humility serve as protection; in the end, no blame or fault.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
The palace is built and governance established, yet the garments are finished with missing sleeves — imperfect but functional. Reverence and humility serve as protection, and in the end no disaster comes. From Innocence to Retreat, the transformation reveals that knowing when to withdraw is itself a form of governance. Dun's image of heaven beneath the mountain shows the great retreating before the encroaching small. The incomplete sleeves suggest conscious restraint — not finishing everything, not filling every space. The verse teaches that innocence preserved through strategic withdrawal outlasts innocence exposed to every threat. Humility as armor succeeds where full display would invite attack.
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