Hexagram 40: Deliverance → Hexagram 33: Retreat

Deliverance
Thunder / Water
Retreat
Heaven / Mountain
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 5, 6).

Line 2

九二 田獲三狐。得黃矢。貞吉。

tián(in) (a
huò(and) take
sānthree
foxes
earn
huángthe golden
shǐarrow(s)
zhēnpersistence
promising

Nine in the second place means: One kills three foxes in the field And receives a yellow arrow. Perseverance brings good fortune.

Line 3

六三 負且乘。致寇至。貞吝。

shouldering
qiěwhile
chéngmounted
zhìinviting
kòuthieves
zhìto approach
zhēnpersistence
lìn(is) embarrassing

Six in the third place means: If a man carries a burden on his back And nonetheless rides in a carriage, He thereby encourages robbers to draw near. Perseverance leads to humiliation.

Line 5

六五 君子維有解。吉。有孚于小人。

jūnnoble
young one
wéiin bondage
yǒu(still
jiěfreedom(s)
promising
yǒubeing
true
for
xiǎo(the) small
rénones

Six in the fifth place means: If only the superior man can deliver himself, It brings good fortune. Thus he proves to inferior men that he is in earnest.

Line 6

上六 公用射隼于高墉之上。獲之无不利。

gōng(the) duke
yòngtakes
shè(his) aim at
sǔn(a
up on
gāo(a
yōngbattlement
zhī...'s
shàngpeak
huò(to) succeed(ing)
zhī(is) here
without
doubt
worthwhile

Six at the top means: The prince shoots at a hawk on a high wall. He kills it. Everything serves to further.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramThunder HeavenThe Arousing → The Creative
Lower TrigramWater MountainThe Deep → Keeping Still

Yilin Verse

啟蟄始生,萬物美榮。祉祿未成,市賈无嬴。

Hibernating creatures stir and are born; the ten thousand things bloom in beauty. Yet blessings and fortune are not yet achieved; the market yields no profit.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Thunder over water recedes into heaven above the mountain — the strategic withdrawal of Retreat. Insects emerge from hibernation, and all things bloom in beauty. Yet blessings and prosperity have not yet materialized; merchants in the market find no profit. The verse captures the paradox of spring: nature stirs brilliantly, but the economy has not yet caught up. Beauty without profit, promise without fulfillment. From Deliverance to Retreat, the transformation warns that premature engagement wastes the season. Heaven above the mountain counsels distance from petty entanglements. The wise person retreats not from fear but from timing — the market is not yet ready, and the blossoming is for its own sake, not for sale.

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