Retiring. Make an offering and you will succeed.
Advantageous. Put your ideas to the Trial through the Small.
The Image
The old character shows a young pig, a hand making a sacrifice, an opening road and a foot following the Way.
Circle of Meanings
Withdraw, retreat, pull back, conceal yourself; retreat from normal activities to gather power for a later advance; run away, flee, escape, disappear, the moment when inner attention turns from projecting a future to learning the lessons of the past; ancient wisdom and archaic powers. Inner self-restraint now gives you the ability to connect action with the spirit. Heart Theme: 44 Coupling with a new fate.
Spirit Helpers
Heaven above Mountain. Father and Youngest Son, the Creator and the Gatekeeper, create an inner limit that draws down inspiring ideas. Extricate yourself from your current situation. Seclude yourself. Do not impose your ideas. Adapt to whatever crosses your path. Do not get emotionally entangled. You must prepare the new time in seclusion, so withdraw even if you must use guile or disguise. You must not stay where you are. Decline involvements, refuse connections. Keep people at a distance not through hatred but through an integrity that inspires awe. You can contact hidden creative energy that will prepare a better time. Immerse yourself in this situation and endure. Knowing when to retire is a very great thing. It couples you with the power of Heaven.
Voice of the Mothers
Withdraw from normal activity to prepare a better time. Do not impose your will. Adapt to what crosses your path. Inner self-restraint now gives you the ability to connect action with the spirit. This is a time to renew the sources of spiritual nourishment (27). Do not focus on enduring in your present way (32).
Dun, retiring, is a strategy, an animal and a sacrifice of that animal, the black pig offered to the hidden powers. It suggests a tactical move, retiring or retreating using disguise, deception and guile if need be. This strategic retreat gathers and focuses positive qualities, connecting you to Heaven-energy, the Dragon force. It is a retreat that allows you to conquer in the end, leaving the Small People who must adapt to circumstances behind. It specifically refers to a sojourn in the Mountain Shrine, talking to the Tiger Spirit and the Mountain Men, the Sages hidden beyond the borders of the civilized world, a retreat to a more primitive state that evokes animal maskers and hidden transformation rituals. The black pig is a sacrifice to the Ghost River and the hidden underworld powers of the archaic ancestors. It represents the animal offered in sacrifice and the dun-ding or pig-vessel used to conduct it. The retreat re-connects the Mountain and the Ghost River, setting up a new axis through which the invigorating strength of the archaic sources can flow. Pig omens in general are sign of wealth and good fortune to come. Here the wealth comes through retiring.
Fall (33): Harvest the crop by restraining your enthusiasm. Stay focused. Move forward carefully. Have no fear. The creative energy is there.
Winter (31): Find the seed of the new by contemplating what comes next. Don’t try to do too much. Bring together what belongs together.
Spring (49): Rouse new growth by stripping away old ideas and patterns. Accept the hard work. Change with grace and elegance. Stay right where you are and the answers will fall into your hand.
Summer (13): Ripen the fruits. Join with others and take the first step. Overcoming the obstacles will bring real success in the end.
Voice of the Fathers
This is an Inspiring Figure, part of the Sacred Sickness Pathways that connect personal disorders with cultural change. It is an Approach to Centers of Power in the stage of the Symbolic Life when we struggle to found an individual dwelling, family and career.
The Situation: A time to preserve resources and independence by strategic withdrawal in face of hostile energy.
Caring for Others: You are faced with a definite and dangerous superior energy. Recognize this and make a strategic withdrawal to prepare a countermove. This is a personal as well as group move. Preserve yourself by being unavailable. Do not let negative emotion cloud your strategic sense.
Setting Intentions: Change plans as often as necessary, but keep them secret. Be cautious and cut back. Put plans on hold. Make your actions correspond to the movements of the situation. Do not be predictable.
Communication and Interaction: Give no information which could be used to erode your position. When in doubt, say nothing. Do not take the initiative.
Change from the Inside Out: Put plans on hold. Do not commit resources. Re-assess ideas and approaches. Seek no support, commit to no agreements. Take no risks. Return to base.
- Immediate Future: a time to pull back into seclusion.
- Personal Development: contact the creative spirit of solitude and silence.
- Working with Others: disentangle people from greed, ambition and fear.
- Working with Organizations: consolidate through withdrawal of resources.
- Relationships: stay alone and connected. Build your own inner strength.
Pairing: Bringing Change to Life
Each hexagram is part of a Pair that that activates the hidden paths of transformative energy through the interaction of the trigrams or Spirit Helpers, connecting Inspiration and Realization. You are in the Inspiring phase of this Pair.
The transformative process of the Pair 33:34 Retiring and Great Invigorating develops the ability to free yourself from encumbering attachments and the force to advance by stepping outside the norms.
Outer to Inner: the process shifts the Creator trigram from the outer world of 33 to the inner world of 34. This turns your active connection with the world into inner perseverance.
Inner to Outer: This interiorisation transforms the Gatekeeper trigram in the inner world of 33 into the Groundbreaker trigram in the outer world of 34. This turns inner self-restraint into a liberating awareness of the whole.
Transforming Lines
Mothering Change presents Transforming Lines as Steps of Change that show you where and how to focus your energy. Click on the links to connect with the Relating Figure generated by each line.
Inner World
Step 1 Beginnings: This return of the spirit attracts a new fate.
Retiring at the tail. Adversity, the hungry souls and angry ghosts.
Make the sacrifice. Do not act. Have a direction to go.
You are caught up in old plans and old promises. You cannot cut through them yet, but be ready. The people are gathering at the gate, poised at the threshold. Though you are stuck at the moment and in for a bit of hard work, the fault will not last long. Accept the hardship. Have no fear. Heaven is shielding the birth of this new group. You are coupled with a creative force. (13 Harmonizing People)
Step 2 Inner Center: This inner re-organization leads to harmony with others.
Held in the yellow bull’s skin.
Absolutely nothing can succeed in loosening this.
This is an inner retreat through which you see into things. Do not let go of what you see. It is your purpose and truly belongs with you. Your ideas have borne fruit and the womb is full. Stay quiet for now. If you can change your considerable strength into imagination you will soon regain what you feel you have lost. You are coupled with a creative force. (44 Coupling)
Step 3 Threshold: This inner re-balancing lets you make your way in life.
Tied Retiring.
There is affliction and adversity, the hungry souls and angry ghosts.
Accumulate servants and concubines to deal with them. The Way opens.
You are entangled in a web of difficulties. You cannot get out of this alone so let others help you. Do not be a victim. You are acting like a young bird afraid to leave the nest but the inner strength is there. You can use your neighbor’s wealth. Proceed step by step. Gather energy for a decisive new move. (12 Obstruction)
Outer World
Step 4 Arrival: This inner preparation leads to what is greater.
Love and goodness come to the Realizing Person through Retiring.
Follow the Woman. Wise Words! The Way opens.
Small People are obstructed.
Goodness and love come through retiring now. Think about what you truly care for. Keep greedy people who are eager to serve you at a distance. You have found a resting place after a transition. This is a portent of future happiness. Have patience. If you use strategy and an open heart rather than aggression it will let you gain the correct position. Proceed step by step. Gather energy for a decisive new move. (53 Gradual Advance)
Step 5 Outer Center: This inner re-grouping lets your real purpose shine.
Excellence comes through Retiring. Trial: Wise Words! The Way is open.
Excellence comes through this retreat. Have no regrets. You make the connection with a single try. Though you may feel isolated and unsure, you have a profound connection that is working at a great distance. Do not be afraid to stand alone. You are coupled with a creative force. (56 Sojourning)
Step 6 Culmination: This inner stripping leads to a breakthrough.
Wealth and fertility come through Retiring.
There is nothing that is not advantageous.
By retiring now you bring wealth and fertility to everything around you. You may want to break forth into passionate speech but do not forget the lessons you learned hidden in retreat. If you try to fix this prematurely you will be lost. Hold back for now. The energy is there but start slowly. You are coupled with a creative force. (31 Conjoining)