33 - Retreat

no2DO - eine Annäherung aus Westen

Contemporary Interpretation

33 - Retreat

Disengagement is
"Death and Rebirth!"

Disengagement is
"Death
[The journey is over
when the road ends.]
And rebirth!"
[But soon the warmth of life
will return: expression, passion.
A new cycle begins.]

The Changes

yang yang yang yang yin yin

Upper Trigram: Qian, Heaven

2nd Core Character: Qian, Heaven

1st Core Character: Sun, Wind (Tree)

Lower Trigram: Gen, Mountain

Information regarding the interpretation model

Classical Interpretation

Retreat (33) signifies to draw back.

The image

The mountain underneath heaven: the image of retreat. Thus the superior man keeps the inferior people at a distance, not angrily but with reserve.

The judgement

Tetreat. Success. In small matters perseverance furthers. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes

Dynamics of the Hexagram

The Changes: 33 - retreat

Lower Trigram: Gen, the Mountain

Gen stands for our ability to disengage. Through letting go of what has become obsolete we can focus on what is essential, ... Read more concentrate our energies and make room for the new. Disengagement harmonizes and focuses our actions and results in reorientation and new beginnings. Gen invites us to honestly examine our possessions, feelings and/or thoughts regarding their validity, and to permanently let go of what is old or outdated. Hide

First Change: Gen → Sun, the Wind / Tree

Sun develops when a (solid) yang line is added (red arrow; yang symbolizes energy, activity). Initial disengagement (Gen) results ... Read more in forward thrusting growth (Sun). We disengaged, we released unnecessary ballast, we concentrated our energies. This way we drew the bow. Until our arrow, Sun, is shot off: unstoppable, unrelenting, heading for our goal. Hide

Second Change: Sun → Qian, the Heaven

Qian develops when a (solid) yang line is added (red arrow; yang symbolizes energy, activity). Sun represents a powerful forward ... Read more thrusting from within ourselves: self-assured, unstoppable, unrelenting, following an invisible, very own, perfect path. This growth reaches its peak in Qian: our clear and coherent self, our true nature. Hide

Third Change: Qian → Qian, the Heaven

Upper Trigram: Qian, the Heaven

Qian represents the zenith of our human potential, a state of mind of clarity and coherence, undisturbed by worries, desires, ... Read more thought loops. When our mind is clear, if we are simultaneously one with ourselves and with our goal, we become creator: the constellating power of our coherent mind, our own living consciousness is able to act upon the unstructured potential that surrounds us, to organize and form it according to our will. Hide

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The interpretations shown above gradually moved away from Eastern concepts. Let us proceed even a little further. In this section I develop a model of interpretation from a Western perspective, more precisely: from the perspective of philosophical anthropology.
A detailed article on the subject can be found here: A Western Approximation

Dem Weg des Dao folgen: Annäherung aus Westen

Exemplary Experiences

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References and Connotations