Dùn · Retreat
Upper trigram: ☰ Heaven · lower trigram: ☶ Mountain
Withdraw in time before what is rising; the sage's retreat is not a flight but a strength.
The primitive character depicts a man striding away from a zone of danger or a threatening animal, while casting a vigilant glance behind him to gauge the distance. It symbolises the strategic retreat, the voluntary and conscious withdrawal of Yang forces before the inexorable advance of a peril or a climate of general hostility.
Strategic withdrawal before the superiority of the negative
This hexagram describes a phase in which outer conditions turn unfavourable to action. Your opponents or destructive logics are gaining the upper hand, and any attempt at frontal resistance would end in disaster. The situation demands knowing how to step aside, to break contact and to take shelter before being overwhelmed.
Withdraw with dignity and without resentment
Retreating is in no way a cowardly flight or a disorderly rout; it is an act of high military and personal strategy. The Accomplished Being chooses the moment of their own departure, "puts distance between themselves and small minds", not out of anger, but with a majestic reserve. By preserving your integrity and your strength today, you keep open the possibility of rebounding tomorrow.
Energetically, the figure places the trigram of the Mountain (Gen, stabilisation, the halt) below, beneath the trigram of Heaven (Qian, vigour, expansion) above. Heaven withdraws toward the heights while the Mountain remains motionless at the base, accentuating the distance created between the two blocks. The challenge is to master one's impatience by accepting that withdrawal is the only winning attitude of the moment.
Each line is read only if it is changing in your cast. A changing line transforms the figure: the link under each text shows which hexagram it leads to.
Three-coin or yarrow-stalk cast, changing lines, outlook figure — computed on your device, no account.