After Completion
既濟Ji Ji
No. 63 · Water over Fire
Ji Ji (After Completion)
The thing is done and everything has found its place. The start was good; the real risk is slackening afterward and letting it unravel. Placed second to last in the book, it is a reminder that success is not the finish line.
Cast your own hexagramIn Ji Ji (After Completion) things have mostly come together and settled into place. The biggest risk now is getting lax; a smooth start doesn't guarantee a smooth finish. Use this calm to think through where problems could appear.
Favorable
- Patch the gaps
- Lock in the process
- Protect what you've built
- Make small adjustments
Avoid
- Slacking off once it's done
- Overhauling everything
- Pressing on after winning
- Making too big a show
Work and money
- Job search
- You've just landed the offer or the promotion, and the next few months are where it is easiest to coast. In Ji Ji (After Completion) it helps to nail down your probation goals and the handover list first, and not to overhaul everything on day one.
- Business
- With the business on track, Ji Ji (After Completion) favors small successes: fine-tuning works, a big revamp or expansion can wait. Settle the routines for books, contracts and inventory; holding ground matters more than new territory.
- Money
- Protect what you've already built. A good time to review insurance and your emergency fund, and a poor time to add more at a high point.
Love and people
- Single
- What you need for meeting someone is in place, and the right person can come together easily under Ji Ji (After Completion). Once it does, keep putting in effort. Don't drop the early attentiveness all at once; how you two handle the first fight matters most.
- In a relationship
- Things are steady; taking each other for granted is the risk. The fifth line of Ji Ji (After Completion) says the western neighbor's simple offering wins more blessing than the eastern neighbor's ox: an anniversary needs no big spend, only showing up on time and meaning it.
- Getting back together
- Getting back together isn't hard to agree on in Ji Ji (After Completion); keeping it is the hard part. If the reason you split hasn't been dealt with, a second try tends to last only a while. Talk that problem through first.
- People and partnerships
- Once the deal is signed and roles are set, watch for someone starting to slack or grab credit. The third line of Ji Ji (After Completion) says not to employ petty people: give key roles to those who do steady work, not those with only nice words.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- Right after passing the exam or earning the certificate is when skills tend to slip. The fourth line of Ji Ji (After Completion) keeps rags ready for a leaking boat: review even the subjects you know, and don't stop before a test because you feel safe.
- Moving and travel
- You've just moved in or the itinerary is booked, and everything looks ready. In Ji Ji (After Completion) a pot on the stove still needs watching: after moving in, check the water, gas and locks once, and before leaving, confirm your passport and tickets again.
- Body and mind
- With the big push just over, letting go can leave you drained or sleeping badly. Take a few days of real rest and ease back into a routine. The Image of Ji Ji (After Completion) speaks of guarding against trouble ahead: if your body sends small warnings, see a doctor early.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- Things have mostly settled, and the outcome leans toward already decided. After the news comes there are still forms to file. The first line of Ji Ji (After Completion) holds back the wheels: don't race to the next step the moment you hear.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- The dispute is mostly settled, so get the agreement and its details down in writing. The top line of Ji Ji (After Completion) warns of danger when the head goes under: pressing on after you've already won is how it gets risky.
- Lost things and people
- A good chance of finding it. Kan (Water) is water and drains, Li (Fire) is fire: check the north side, near the stove, by the sink, or around a drain.
Making a decision
Keeping things as they are and guarding against trouble tends to serve you better. If you change anything, keep it to small adjustments and hold off on big moves.
If you are…
Ji Ji (After Completion) means the thing is done, but the Judgment says good fortune at the beginning, disorder at the end. After the opening buzz, the middle of the run is where trouble tends to hit: schedule weekly checks on staffing, equipment and the pieces, and write the teardown plan now.
In Ji Ji (After Completion) the river is crossed, and this is when it is easiest to relax into big spending. Set the old monthly payment to transfer automatically into an emergency fund. Keeping the habit going is what holds on to what you've won.
This is the reading when no line is changing. With changing lines, Zhu Xi’s method says which line to read, and the result page after a casting tells you directly.
亨小。利貞。初吉終亂。
Success in small matters. It pays to stay steadfast. Good fortune at the beginning, disorder at the end.
Water over Fire: Kan (Water) above, Li (Fire) below. Water sits over fire like a pot cooking on the stove, each doing its work. Every one of the six lines stands in its proper yin or yang place, so the hexagram is called Ji Ji (After Completion): the river already crossed, the work already done.
Nine at the beginning
曳其輪，濡其尾，无咎。
Holding back the wheels; the fox wets its tail in the crossing. No blame.
The thing has only just come together, so don't rush ahead. Tap the brakes. A small loss or a little awkwardness now beats charging on until something breaks.
Small Image: 曳其輪，義无咎也。
Six in the second place
婦喪其茀，勿逐，七日得。
A woman loses the screen of her carriage. Do not chase after it; in seven days it is regained.
You may lose, for now, what lets you step forward: your spot is blocked or a chance is taken away. No need to fight for it back. Keep doing your part, and it tends to return to you in time.
Small Image: 七日得，以中道也。
Nine in the third place
高宗伐鬼方，三年克之，小人勿用。
The High Ancestor (King Wu Ding of Yin) attacks the Demon Territory (a distant people) and takes three years to conquer it. Do not employ petty people.
Three years to win means a heavy cost, so don't launch big campaigns lightly. If you must, choose people with care, and keep those who chase credit and cut corners out of key roles.
Small Image: 三年克之，憊也。
Six in the fourth place
繻有衣袽，終日戒。
The boat springs leaks (Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi read the word as "getting wet"); have rags and old clothes ready to plug them, and stay on guard all day.
Things look fine now, but a gap could open at any time. Get the backup plan, the file backups and the emergency fund ready first, and check them daily instead of hunting for a patch after it springs.
Small Image: 終日戒，有所疑也。
Nine in the fifth place
東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之禴祭，實受其福。
The eastern neighbor slaughters an ox for a grand sacrifice, but it does not match the western neighbor's simple offering, which truly receives the blessing.
A big show doesn't mean it works; the right timing and a sincere heart count for more. A gift, an event or a pitch that is thoughtful and well sized often lands better than spending big.
Small Image: 東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之時也；實受其福，吉大來也。
Six at the top
濡其首，厲。
Getting the head wet in the crossing. Danger.
You've already succeeded and keep pushing forward, and now the water is over your head. Pull back soon: take the profit, wrap up the project. Holding on longer can cost you what you've gained.
Small Image: 濡其首厲，何可久也。
既濟，亨，小者亨也。利貞，剛柔正而位當也。初吉，柔得中也。終止則亂，其道窮也。
Ji Ji (After Completion) has success: it is the small things that succeed. It pays to stay steadfast, because the firm and the yielding are correct and every line stands in its fitting place. Good fortune at the beginning, because the yielding line holds the central place. If it comes to a halt at the end, disorder follows, because that road has run out.
The Image水在火上，既濟；君子以思患而豫防之。
Water above fire: this is Ji Ji (After Completion). The noble person, seeing this, thinks of the troubles that may come and guards against them in advance.
The Sequence: why it comes here有過物者，必濟，故受之既濟。
Those who can go beyond the ordinary are able to carry things through and get across. So Xiao Guo (Small Exceeding) is followed by Ji Ji (After Completion), which means the crossing is made and the work is finished.
Miscellaneous Notes漸女歸待男行也，頤養正也，既濟定也。
The Miscellaneous Notes call Ji Ji (After Completion) settled: every line sits in its proper place, and things have come to rest. It appears in a run with Jian (Gradual Progress) and Yi (Nourishment) and has no direct pair.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Ji Ji mean for love?
What you need for meeting someone is in place, and the right person can come together easily under Ji Ji (After Completion). Once it does, keep putting in effort. Don't drop the early attentiveness all at once; how you two handle the first fight matters most. Things are steady; taking each other for granted is the risk. The fifth line of Ji Ji (After Completion) says the western neighbor's simple offering wins more blessing than the eastern neighbor's ox: an anniversary needs no big spend, only showing up on time and meaning it.
What does Ji Ji mean for work?
You've just landed the offer or the promotion, and the next few months are where it is easiest to coast. In Ji Ji (After Completion) it helps to nail down your probation goals and the handover list first, and not to overhaul everything on day one. After a launch or a target met, patch the gaps and lock in the process. Small improvements are fine; this is not the time for a big overhaul.
With Ji Ji, will what I am waiting for come?
Things have mostly settled, and the outcome leans toward already decided. After the news comes there are still forms to file. The first line of Ji Ji (After Completion) holds back the wheels: don't race to the next step the moment you hear.
With Ji Ji, will I find what I lost?
A good chance of finding it. Kan (Water) is water and drains, Li (Fire) is fire: check the north side, near the stove, by the sink, or around a drain.
A hexagram answers one question; your chart shows the whole of you and your year.
The classical text follows the standard edition of the Zhouyi. The plain readings are Xingge’s own, offered as a reference, not as the final word.