需 → 遯
Hexagram 5: Waiting → Hexagram 33: Retreat
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 4, 6).
Line 1
初九 需于郊。利用恆。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: Waiting in the meadow. It furthers one to abide in what endures. No blame.
Line 2
九二 需于沙。小有言。終吉。
Nine in the second place means: Waiting on the sand. There is some gossip. The end brings good fortune.
Line 4
六四 需于血。出自穴。
Six in the fourth place means: Waiting in blood. Get out of the pit.
Line 6
上六 入于穴。有不速之客三人來。敬之終吉。
Six at the top means: One falls into the pit. Three uninvited guests arrive. Honor them, and in the end there will be good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
去如飛鴻，避凶且東。遂得全脫，與福相逢。
Departing like a wild goose in flight, fleeing misfortune toward the east. Thus one escapes and breaks free; meeting blessing along the way.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Clouds above heaven shift to heaven towering above the mountain — Retreat's spacious withdrawal. One departs like a flying wild goose, avoiding danger and heading east. Through swift departure, one achieves complete escape and encounters good fortune. The wild goose, the Yijing's emblem of gradual progress and timely movement, here becomes the image of well-judged flight from peril. The verse is unambiguous: when the moment demands retreat, the wise move fast and far. 'Eastward' may simply mean 'toward safety' or invoke the direction of renewal. From Waiting to Retreat, the nourishing patience of Xu transforms into the wisdom of knowing when to stop waiting and leave — retreat as the highest form of self-preservation.
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