Retreat
Judgment
— I Ching · classical
亨，小利贞。
Withdrawing now brings success; even in small, quiet matters, staying steady pays off.
Image
— Great Image
天下有山，遁，君子以远小人，不恶而严。
A mountain rests beneath the open sky: this is Retreat. Seeing it, a person of principle puts distance between themselves and those of poor character — coolly, without anger or confrontation.
Six Lines
— Bottom to top
Modern Readings
— Interdisciplinary
Career & Management
Cutting loss-making lines, cashing out cleanly, decisive winding-down during industry collapse. Refuse the 'break-even mindset'; sever cleanly to save the larger whole.
Psychology & Cognition
'Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreat is best.' In toxic relationships or doomed projects, leave fast — the sooner the exit, the more vitality preserved.
Decision Guidance
Withdraw at the right time (line 5: 'friendly retreat'), without baggage (line 6: 'cheerful retreat'). The worst is to be last (line 1) or held by attachment (line 3).
Integrated Reading
— Structure · timing · relations
Retreat places The Creative / Heaven above Keeping Still / Mountain. Read the lower trigram as the emerging ground and the upper trigram as the field, pressure, or constraint it must answer. The core theme is Retreat · Strategic exit · Releasing without bitterness. Relations: the opposite hexagram shows the shadow/complement (Approach); the inverse shows the other-side view (The Power of the Great); the nuclear hexagram shows the hidden internal mechanism (Coming to Meet).
Line Path
Line path: Initial Six → Six in the second → Nine in the third → Nine in the fourth → Nine in the fifth → Nine at the top. Read from bottom to top to see how the situation emerges, develops, crosses thresholds, and resolves.
Reflection Prompt
Am I acting from the proper position of Retreat, or am I being pulled by refusing timely retreat? What is the smallest reversible next move that respects the timing?
Western Parallels
— Cross-cultural
Stoic acceptance of what is no longer yours; Marie Kondo's principle of letting go gratefully; Sun Tzu on the value of organized retreat; Hemingway's 'never confuse motion with action' — the disciplined non-action of withdrawal.
· English renderings and modern readings are original editorial writing, cross-checked against public-domain and classical commentary lineages.
· Hexagram Cast does not predict, score, schedule, ward, or recommend rituals.
· Modern inputs are reproducible; traditional casts can be audited line by line from the stored coin/yarrow trace.