遯 → 屯
Hexagram 33: Retreat → Hexagram 3: Difficulty at the Beginning
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 6).
Line 1
初六 遯尾厲。勿用有攸往。
Six at the beginning means: At the tail in retreat. This is dangerous. One must not wish to undertake anything.
Line 3
九三 係遯。有疾厲。畜臣妾吉。
Nine in the third place means: A halted retreat Is nerve-wracking and dangerous. To retain people as men- and maidservants Brings good fortune.
Line 4
九四 好遯。君子吉。小人否。
Nine in the fourth place means: Voluntary retreat brings good fortune to the superior man And downfall to the inferior man.
Line 6
上九 肥遯无不利。
Nine at the top means: Cheerful retreat. Everything serves to further.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
穴有孤烏，坎生蝦蟆，象出萬里，不可得捕。
In the cave, a solitary crow; in the pit, a toad is born. The elephant roams ten thousand li; it cannot be caught.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Heaven above the mountain plunges into cloud and thunder — Difficulty at the Beginning. A lone crow huddles in its hole; a toad spawns in the pit. An elephant roams ten thousand li away, impossible to capture. Each creature inhabits its own realm, unreachable from the others. The verse evokes frustrated pursuit: the quarry is either buried underground, hidden in a burrow, or wandering so far afield that no effort can close the distance. From Retreat to Difficulty at the Beginning, the mountain's withdrawal collapses into primal confusion. Thunder rumbles beneath gathering clouds, but nothing coheres. The one who retreats vanishes utterly, like the distant elephant — and those left behind grope in darkness among crows and toads, unable even to locate what they have lost.
The Six Lines app includes all 4,096 Yilin verses, each with original ink brush artwork and full commentary. Download on the App Store