Hexagram 33: Retreat天山遯 · Dùn

• Upper trigram　Qián, Heaven: strength, creation and the drive to move forward.
• Lower trigram　Gèn, Mountain: stillness, steadiness and stopping at the right time.

The Judgment

Success. In small matters perseverance furthers.

亨，小利貞。

Our plain English rendering, with the Zhouyi original

Reading

Stepping back and holding something in reserve, at the right time. Today suits avoiding needless conflict and taking a step back for now, saving your energy and attention.

Something to do today

• Turn down one thing today that would drain you too much.

How a hexagram is cast

The three-coin method: toss three coins together, counting heads as 3 and tails as 2. The total, 6, 7, 8 or 9, gives one line; six tosses, recorded from the bottom up, make a hexagram. A 6 (old yin) or 9 (old yang) is a changing line, which turns this hexagram into another and shows where things are heading.