Retreat

Conflict and consequent seclusion. Withdrawing from the affairs at hand to conceal yourself in obscurity. Retire from normal activities to gather inner power. Keep what is small at a distance. Don’t be a follower or try to create a following. Beware of hesitation, failure to make plans, dislike and aggression. Be flexible. Give ground but preserve resources.

遯, 亨, 小利貞.

##### Symbolic The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. This retreat is a matter not of man's will but of natural law. Therefore in this case withdrawal is proper; it is the correct way to behave in order not to exhaust one's forces. In the calendar this hexagram is linked with the sixth month (July-August), in which the forces of winter are already showing their influence. ##### Judgment RETREAT. Success. In what is small, perseverance furthers. ##### Judgment Comments Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing. In this case retreat is the right course, and it is not to be confused with flight. Flight means saving oneself under any circumstances, whereas retreat is a sign of strength. We must be careful not to miss the right moment while we are in full possession of power and position. Then we shall be able to interpret the signs of the time before it is too late and to prepare for provisional retreat instead of being drawn into a desperate life-and-death struggle. Thus we do not simple abandon the field to the opponent; we make it difficult for him to advance by showing perseverance in single acts of resistance. In this way we prepare, while retreating, for the counter-movement. Understanding the laws of a constructive retreat of this sort is not easy. The meaning that lies hidden in such a time is important. ##### Image Mountain under heaven: the image of RETREAT. Thus the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance, Not angrily but with reserve. ##### Image Comments The mountain rises up under heaven, but owing to its nature it finally comes to a stop. Heaven on the other hand retreats upward before it into the distance and remains out of reach. This symbolizes the behavior of the superior man toward a climbing inferior; he retreats into his own thoughts as the inferior man comes forward. He does not hate him, for hatred is a form of subjective involvement by which we are bound to the hated object. The superior man shows strength (heaven) in that he brings the inferior man to a standstill (mountain) by his dignified reserve.