The trigram above CH’IEN – The Creative, Heaven
The trigram below KEN – Still, Mountain
General: It is not an admission of defeat to retreat from an unequal fight.
Love: Take the time to strengthen your position when considering engaging in a fight with your partner.
Business: Rethink your position and strategy before reentering negotiations. Do not compromise just because it is quicker to do so.
Personal: Don’t ignore issues but formulate an effective strategy before attempting to deal with it. Avoid destructive confrontations.
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.
Conditions are such that the hostile forces favored by the time are advancing. in this case retreat is the right course, and it is through retreat that success is achieved. But success consists in being able to carry out the retreat correctly. Retreat 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 simply 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 w 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.
