革 → 遯
Hexagram 49: Revolution → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 6).
Line 1
初九 鞏用黃牛之革。
Nine at the beginning means: Wrapped in the hide of a yellow cow.
Line 6
上六 君子豹變。小人革面。征凶。居貞吉。
Six at the top means: The superior man changes like a panther. The inferior man molts in the face. Starting brings misfortune. To remain persevering brings good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
退飛見祥，傷敗毀墜。守小失大，功名不遂。
Retreating in flight, an omen appears; wounded, ruined, and falling. Guarding the small, losing the great; merit and fame remain unfulfilled.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire within the lake transforms into heaven above the mountain — Retreat, the strategic withdrawal. Birds fly backward, an omen portending injury and ruin. Guarding the small, one loses the great; merit and reputation go unfulfilled. In Chinese omen lore, birds flying backward signal reversed fortune. What should advance retreats; what should grow contracts. The verse names this failure precisely: clinging to minor gains while larger opportunities slip away. From Revolution to Retreat, the transformation warns that a botched withdrawal is worse than no retreat at all. The gentleman retreats to preserve his integrity, but here the retreat is accidental, chaotic — more collapse than strategy.
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