Upper trigram
☰
Heaven (Qian) above
Creative force.
FamilyFather
ElementMetal
Hexagram 33 of 64
I Ching hexagram 33 ☰☶ Retreat
I Ching hexagram 33, Retreat, is heaven above, mountain below. In brief: withdrawing in good order before it is forced. Counting from the bottom, its solid lines sit in places 3, 4, 5 and 6 and its broken lines in 1 and 2.
- Lines, bottom up
- ⚋⚋⚊⚊⚊⚊ 001111 · 1 = solid
- Trigrams
- Heaven over Mountain Qian ☰ / Gen ☶
- Every line changed
- № 19 Approach
- In Legge, 1882
- p. 127 Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16
Legge, The Yî King, 1882.
Lower trigram
☶
Mountain (Gen) below
Stillness and limit.
FamilyYoungest son
ElementEarth
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
What the text says, in plain terms
The Judgement and the Image of hexagram 33
The Judgement
Retreat at the right moment. When opposing forces are gaining ground, stepping back in good order is a strength, and small gains are still possible.
The Image
A mountain under heaven, the sky receding above it. The lesson is to keep a dignified distance from those who would drag you down, without hostility.
A summary of meaning written for this site, not a translation — James Legge’s 1882 translation of the full text follows below. How the Judgement and the Image are read, and which translations to use →
Primary source
Hexagram 33 in James Legge’s translation
“Thun indicates successful progress (in its circumstances). To a small extent it will (still) be advantageous to be firm and correct.”
“(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.”
The lines
- Line 1 · bottom The first line, divided, shows a retiring tail. The position is perilous. No movement in any direction should be made.
- Line 2 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.
- Line 3 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.
- Line 4 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.
- Line 5 The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in an admirable way. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
- Line 6 · top The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject retiring in a noble way. It will be advantageous in every respect.
James Legge, trans., The Yî King, The Sacred Books of the East, vol. 16 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 127 — read the original text.
Words in parentheses are Legge’s own: in his preface he explains that they supply what the original writer left unsaid. “Undivided” and “divided” are his terms for yang and yin lines, counted from the bottom. The Image comes from the second appendix of the book, the Treatise on the Symbolism.
Retreat for a decision
Withdraw from a losing position before you are forced out. Retreat on your own terms, keep your options and do not waste energy on resentment.
I Ching 33 in love and relationships
Stepping back from a situation that is becoming unhealthy. Distance can be kind and firm at the same time.
Hexagram 33 at work
Exiting a project, market or role in time. A planned withdrawal preserves resources for a better opportunity.
The six lines of hexagram 33
Read from the bottom up. This figure runs yin yin yang yang yang yang — what each position means.
4 yang and 2 yin lines. Three of the six stand in their proper place, and the pairs 1–4 and 2–5 answer.
What the two trigrams do to each other
Inner and outer
Mountain below — stillness and limit — is the private, inner side of hexagram 33.
Heaven above — creative force — is the world that side meets.
The five-element relation
Earth below generates Metal above in the five-element cycle: the lower trigram feeds the upper. Energy moves upward and outward, which is the more productive of the two directions.
Read as a family
The father sits above and the youngest son below. A parent over a child, which the tradition reads as guidance, authority or constraint depending on the rest of the figure.
Calculated from the lines
Hexagrams connected to hexagram 33
Nuclear hexagram
44 · Coming to Meet
What is happening beneath the surface.
Lines 2–4 give Xun (Wind) as the lower trigram, lines 3–5 give Qian (Heaven) as the upper.
Opposite hexagram
19 · Approach
The situation turned inside out.
Change all six lines and Heaven over Mountain becomes Earth over Lake.
Inverse hexagram
34 · Great Power
The situation seen from the other side.
Turn the figure upside down and Heaven over Mountain becomes Thunder over Heaven.
None of these are assigned by an author — each follows from the arrangement of lines.
The image
Heaven above, Mountain below.
Heaven over Mountain: creative force meeting stillness and limit.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “I Ching Hexagram 33: Retreat.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/33/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=I Ching Hexagram 33: Retreat |url=https://astrohot.com/i-ching/hexagram/33/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-27}}