above Kiën, the Creative, heaven · below Gen, Keeping Still, mountain
This hexagram describes a time when forces are advancing that you cannot hold back. There is a clear line between retreat and flight: ‘Retreat is a sign of strength’, as long as you are still in full possession of your strength and your position. Withdraw in good time, without simply leaving the field to the other side, and you are already preparing the turn of events; that is how the retreat succeeds. The Image advises keeping people who care only for their own advantage at a distance, without anger and with measured bearing. Steer clear of hatred; it is a kind of inner involvement that ties you to the other person.
Where would stepping back in good time be a sign of strength right now?
The power of the dark is on the rise. The light withdraws to safety before it, so that the dark can do it no harm. This retreat is not a matter of human caprice but of the laws that govern natural events. Therefore in this case retreat is the right way to act, the way that does not wear out one’s forces.
As a month sign the hexagram is assigned to the sixth month (July to August), in which the forces of winter are already beginning to make their influence felt again.
The hexagram expresses a thought similar to the one in the saying of Jesus: ‘That ye resist not evil’ (Matt. 5:39).
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
Retreat. Success.In small things perseverance is favourable.
Conditions are such that the hostile forces, favoured by the time, are advancing. In this case retreat is the right course, and it is precisely through retreat that success is won. The success lies in being able to carry out the retreat correctly. Retreat is not to be confused with flight, which has no thought but escape at any cost. Retreat is a sign of strength. One must not let the right moment slip while one is still in full possession of one’s strength and position. Then one is able to read the signs of the time in good season and prepares a temporary withdrawal, instead of throwing oneself into a desperate struggle for life or death. Nor does one simply abandon the field to the opponent; one makes his advance difficult by still showing perseverance in particular points. In this way the retreat itself already prepares the turn of events. To understand the laws of such an active retreat is not easy. The meaning that lies hidden in a time like this is of great weight.
Beneath heaven lies the mountain:the image of retreat.So the noble one holds the base man at bay,not in anger, but with measured bearing.
The mountain rises beneath heaven, but it is in its nature to come to a halt in the end. Heaven, by contrast, withdraws upward before it into the distance, so that it remains out of reach. This is the image of how the noble one conducts himself towards the rising base man. In his inner disposition he withdraws from him. He does not hate him; for hatred is a kind of inner involvement by which one binds oneself to the object of one’s hatred. The noble one shows his strength (heaven) in bringing the base man to a standstill (mountain) by his measured bearing.
Wilhelm placed the signs ○ and □ after certain lines (p. 334 f.). They mark the rulers of the hexagram. □ stands by the constituting ruler: the line that gives the hexagram its meaning, however high it stands and whatever its character. ○ stands by the governing ruler. It is always of good character and becomes ruler through the meaning of the time and its position, usually in the fifth place. Where a line is both, it carries ○.
In retreat, at the tail: that is dangerous.One must not seek to undertake anything.
If you are the last to leave in a retreat, you are closest to the pressure from behind. In this position any new move forward is dangerous. Undertake nothing for now and keep still; that is your best chance of escaping the danger that threatens.
Since the hexagram is the image of something withdrawing, the bottom line is the tail and the top line the head. In a retreat it is an advantage to be at the front. Here one is at the rear, in direct contact with the enemy pressing behind. That is dangerous. In such perilous circumstances it is not advisable to undertake anything. By keeping still one most easily escapes the danger that threatens.
He binds him fast with yellow ox-leather.No one is able to wrench him free.
This describes someone in a weaker position who holds on firmly and stubbornly to people who would really rather break away. Because what they want is right and their will is strong, they reach their goal. Hold steadily to what you have recognised as right, even when others keep their distance.
Yellow is the colour of the middle. It points to what is correct and in keeping with duty. The hide of an ox is firm and cannot be torn. While the noble ones withdraw and the lesser people press after them, here a lesser man is portrayed who holds on to the noble ones so firmly and tenaciously that they cannot free themselves from him. And because he wants what is right and is so strong in his will, he also reaches his goal. In this way the line confirms the words of the Judgement: ‘In small things (here as much as to say: for the lesser man) perseverance is favourable.’
A similar thought is suggested in Jacob’s wrestling by night with the God of Peniel, Gen. 32: ‘I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.’
A retreat that is held up is painful and perilous.To keep the people as manservants and maids brings good fortune.
A retreat that is held up: it is time to go, yet others won’t let you, and so you lose your freedom to act. Then at least keep the initiative in your own hands and draw these people into your own tasks rather than putting yourself at their mercy. It won’t make the situation a happy one, yet it stays manageable, and that turns out well.
When it is time to withdraw and one is held back, that is unpleasant and dangerous at once, since one has been robbed of freedom of action. In such a case the only way out is to take the people who will not let one go into one’s own service, so to speak, so as at least to keep the initiative and not fall defenceless under their rule. But even if this is a way out, the situation does not become a happy one. For what is one to get done with servants like these?
Retreat by free choice brings the noble one good fortune,the base man decline.
Here someone withdraws of their own free will, on friendly terms and without doing violence to their convictions. Anyone who acts with maturity finds the parting easy on the inside too, and for them it turns out well. Go in peace if you have to go; the harm is more likely to fall on those who think only of themselves and are now left without guidance.
For the higher man, retreat means taking his leave in all friendliness and with a good grace. The retreat comes easily to him inwardly as well, because in this way he need do no violence to his convictions. The one who has to suffer from it is only the base man from whom he withdraws, and who must go to ruin without the guidance of the noble one.
Retreat in friendship. Perseverance brings good fortune.
If you recognise the right moment to withdraw, you can part on friendly terms, with no unpleasant disputes at all. Stay courteous in tone and firm in your decision. Don’t let other considerations talk you out of it again; with this perseverance it turns out well.
It is for the noble one to recognise in good time when the moment has come to withdraw. If one chooses the right moment for retreat, the retreat can take place on entirely friendly terms, without any need for unpleasant disputes. But for all the courtesy of the outward form, an unconditional firmness of resolve is needed, so that one is not thrown off course by other considerations.
Cheerful retreat. Everything is favourable.
Here the inner detachment has already happened, and so the way is open. When you see so clearly where you are going, you find a cheerful composure that chooses what is right without a second thought. Take this path without further hesitation; where the situation is this clear, it leads to good.
The situation is unambiguous. Inner detachment is an established fact. This gives one the freedom to go. Where one sees one’s way ahead so clearly and beyond all doubt, a cheerful composure sets in that chooses what is right without the least hesitation. A path as clear as this always leads to good.
Would you like to put your own question to the I Ching? Six throws of three coins, and the answer appears straight away.
Consult the I ChingTexts by Richard Wilhelm: I Ging. Das Buch der Wandlungen (first edition Jena 1924), translated into English by NUMEN COMPASS from the Diederichs edition, Munich 1996. Wilhelm’s German text is in the public domain. The section ‘What the hexagram says today’, the question for you and the short notes under the lines are our own reading. The I Ching is no substitute for medical, legal or psychological advice.