| Name | 遁 Dùn, “Retreat” |
|---|---|
| Upper trigram | ☰ 乾 Heaven: strength and initiative |
| Lower trigram | ☶ 艮 Mountain: stillness and limits |
The Judgment
亨，小利贞。
Success. In small matters, stay true.
Time to step back. Not full surrender — graceful exit. Small commitments only.
The Image
天下有山，遁；君子以远小人，不恶而严。
Heaven above the mountain — Retreat. The wise keep distance from petty people — not with anger, but with dignity.
Pull away from the wrong crowd without making it a confrontation. Just quietly become unavailable.
The six lines
If a line changes in your cast, read its text below. Lines are numbered from the bottom.
Line 1 · first (bottom) · Yin
遁尾，厉。勿用有攸往。
At the tail in retreat. Danger. Do not act.
Caught at the back of the retreat. Don't make sudden moves — wait for the gap.
Line 2 · second · Yin
执之用黄牛之革，莫之胜说。
He holds him fast with yellow ox-hide. No one can tear him loose.
A bond too strong to break. Sometimes commitment means you can't retreat — and that's still okay.
Line 3 · third · Yang
系遁，有疾，厉。畜臣妾，吉。
Held retreat. Anxious, danger. To keep servants and concubines — fortune.
Trying to leave while still entangled. The right move is to take care of those who depend on you before exiting cleanly.
Line 4 · fourth · Yang
好遁，君子吉，小人否。
Voluntary retreat. For the noble one — fortune. For the small-minded — no.
Walking away because you can, not because you have to. People with substance do this gracefully. The petty can't.
Line 5 · fifth · Yang
嘉遁，贞吉。
Beautiful retreat. Stay true — fortune.
Exit with style and timing. No bitterness, no smoke. Fortune.
Line 6 · top · Yang
肥遁，无不利。
Joyful retreat. Nothing fails.
Leaving with peace in your chest. No looking back. Everything works.
Related hexagrams
- Inverted (turned upside down): Hexagram 34, Great Power
- Complement (every line reversed): Hexagram 19, Approach