I Ching hexagram 33
Hexagram 33: Dun
Retreat · 天山遯 · Heaven above, Mountain below
When a situation turns against you, stepping back calmly is the move that keeps your dignity.
What this hexagram is about
A job or a relationship is becoming harder to hold, because pressure is building from below and your influence is shrinking. Dun (Retreat) says to withdraw in good order and to keep your distance without showing anger.
A way to think about it
Some position of yours may already be slipping. What could you keep by leaving it cleanly, and is there still time to leave on your own terms?
The text, with Legge's translation
Judgment
亨。小利貞。
Thun indicates successful progress (in its circumstances). To a small extent it will (still) be advantageous to be firm and correct.
Stepping back at the right moment keeps your way open, so the retreat succeeds. Only small matters are still worth keeping steady and correct, since the larger situation is moving against you.
Image
天下有山，遯；君子以遠小人，不惡而嚴。
(The trigram representing) the sky and below it that for a mountain form Thun. The superior man, in accordance with this, keeps small men at a distance, not by showing that he hates them, but by his own dignified gravity.
Line 1 · 初六
遯尾，厲，勿用有攸往。
The first line, divided, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made.
You left late and are at the tail of the retreat, which is risky. The advice is to make no new moves and hold still.
Line 2 · 六二
執之用黃牛之革，莫之勝說。
The second line, divided, shows its subject holding (his purpose) fast as if by a (thong made from the) hide of a yellow ox, which cannot be broken.
The image is a strap of tough ox hide that no one can undo. It stands for a commitment held so firmly that pressure does not loosen it.
Line 3 · 九三
係遯，有疾厲，畜臣妾吉。
The third line, undivided, shows one retiring but bound,--to his distress and peril. (If he were to deal with his binders as in) nourishing a servant or concubine, it would be fortunate for him.
A tie holds you back as you try to leave, which wears you down and puts you at risk. Only small household matters, such as looking after dependents, go well from this position.
Line 4 · 九四
好遯君子吉，小人否。
The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring notwithstanding his likings. In a superior man this will lead to good fortune; a small man cannot attain to this.
Even though you are fond of what you give up, you leave willingly. A person of firm character does well with this, while people ruled by their attachments cannot manage it.
Line 5 · 九五
嘉遯，貞吉。
The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
You withdraw at the right time and in the right way, and the retreat is admirable. Holding steady and correct through it bodes well.
Line 6 · 上九
肥遯，无不利。
The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect.
Well clear of the trouble, with nothing holding you and no second thoughts, you retreat at your own pace. Nothing works against you.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi, public domain. English: James Legge, The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882), public domain. Plain notes written by this site.
Questions
I cast hexagram 33. Which text do I read?
With no changing lines, read the judgment: "Thun indicates successful progress (in its circumstances). To a small extent it will (still) be advantageous to be firm and correct." With changing lines, read the lines that changed. When several change at once, Zhu Xi's rules decide which text leads, and the casting page marks it for you.
What are the nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams of Dun?
The nuclear hexagram is 44. Gou (Sudden Encounter). The opposite is 19. Lin (Approach). The inverted hexagram is 34. Da Zhuang (Great Power).