Before Completion
未濟Wei Ji
No. 64 · Fire over Water
Wei Ji (Before Completion)
The river isn't crossed yet; the thing isn't done. The book ends on something unfinished, a sign that every ending opens a new start. For now, sort things out with care and go one step at a time.
Cast your own hexagramIn Wei Ji (Before Completion) the thing isn't done yet and the last stretch remains. The way ahead is open, but rushing it tends to slip at the final hurdle. Sort out who does what and where everything goes first, then move forward step by step.
Favorable
- Move forward step by step
- Sort out roles first
- Find another way across
- Confirm before saying yes
Avoid
- Easing off in the last mile
- Celebrating too early
- Forcing the old route
- Spending money not yet in hand
Work and money
- Job search
- Your search is midway; the outlook in Wei Ji (Before Completion) is open but nothing is final. The last interview and the salary talk are where haste costs most. Confirm the terms before saying yes, and don't quit your current job before the offer is in writing.
- Business
- The deal is half negotiated or the product isn't out yet. Wei Ji (Before Completion) has success, so the direction is sound, but harvest time hasn't come. The Image says to set each thing in its place: put people, money and stock where they belong before pushing on.
- Money
- Don't spend money you don't have in hand yet. With a deal or investment still midway, hold off on adding more until it has actually landed.
Love and people
- Single
- There is someone you're getting to know, and you're both still feeling it out. The second line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) holds back the wheels: don't rush to make it official. Spend more time together and see them clearly before the next step.
- In a relationship
- You're still adjusting to each other in Wei Ji (Before Completion). The Tuan commentary says the firm and the yielding answer one another: different temperaments can complement each other. Spell out who handles money and who plans the schedule, and conflict tends to drop.
- Getting back together
- There is still a chance, but not all at once. The fifth line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) speaks of the noble person's radiance and sincerity: get your own life in order and keep your word so they can see the change. Pushing for an answer can undo the progress.
- People and partnerships
- The partnership or team is still finding its rhythm. The top line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) warns that drinking until the head is soaked loses all measure: don't celebrate or divide the credit before the project closes. Settle that once it has really landed.
Daily life
- Exams and study
- The exam is still ahead and you're behind schedule. In Wei Ji (Before Completion) the final push is where focus tends to slip. Shore up your weakest subject first, and don't take a break just because you're almost through the material.
- Moving and travel
- Preparations for the move or trip aren't complete. The third line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) says setting out is unfavorable while things are unfinished: forcing the original plan is risky. Another way can work, like moving in two trips or taking a different route.
- Body and mind
- With things hanging unresolved, your mind hangs too, and restlessness and poor sleep come easily in Wei Ji (Before Completion). List what's unfinished and take one item at a time. If you stay worn out and can't get going, make an appointment with a doctor.
Traditional questions
- Something you are waiting for
- It's still on its way, and news is slower than you hoped. In Wei Ji (Before Completion) fire sits above and water below, and the two haven't met. The result tends to come only once both sides' terms line up.
- Disputes and lawsuits
- It's not time to wrap up, and the other side is still watching. The fourth line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) rewards resolve over a long campaign: don't expect to settle it in one round. Gather the evidence piece by piece and win ground back the honest way.
- Lost things and people
- A middling chance, and it will take some effort. Li (Fire) is bright places and hard shells, Kan (Water) is hidden things: look to the south, near lamps, inside a hard case or box, or underneath something piled on top.
Making a decision
If you aren't prepared enough, wait. Once the terms are clear and people and tasks are in the right places, set out.
If you are…
Wei Ji (Before Completion) is being just short of the end. Put that one course first this term and push the side job and clubs back. Ask the professor or TA exactly how it's graded, and don't end up cramming the final paper the night before again.
In Wei Ji (Before Completion) the little fox wets its tail just before it reaches the bank: the closer the race, the stronger the pull to add miles. Taper to the plan in the last month, test shoes and fuel on long runs, and change nothing on race day.
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。小狐汔濟，濡其尾，无攸利。
Success. The little fox has nearly crossed the river but wets its tail. Nothing is favorable.
Fire over Water: Li (Fire) above, Kan (Water) below. Fire burns upward and water runs downward, so the two never meet and neither can do its work. Not one of the six lines stands in its proper place, so the hexagram is called Wei Ji (Before Completion): the crossing not yet made.
Six at the beginning
濡其尾，吝。
Wetting the tail. Humiliation.
You rushed the crossing before your skills were ready, and the start went badly and a bit embarrassingly. Take an honest measure of what you can do, move once you're prepared, and don't force it to the end.
Small Image: 濡其尾，亦不知極也。
Nine in the second place
曳其輪，貞吉。
Holding back the wheels. Steadfastness brings good fortune.
You have the ability, but the timing isn't there yet. Resist jumping ahead, finish the groundwork, and keep to your part; that tends to turn out well.
Small Image: 九二貞吉，中以行正也。
Six in the third place
未濟，征凶，利涉大川。
Not yet across: setting out on a campaign brings misfortune. It pays to cross the great river.
Forcing the old route tends to go wrong, but another way can get you across. Zhu Xi reads it as "you can float across on the water, not march over land": change the tool or the channel, find someone to carry you, and skip brute force.
Small Image: 未濟征凶，位不當也。
Nine in the fourth place
貞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。
Steadfastness brings good fortune; regret disappears. Rousing oneself to attack the Demon Territory (a distant people), after three years one is rewarded by the great state.
Your position starts out shaky, but with real resolve and an honest course you can turn it around. This is a long campaign, so plan on several years before the payoff.
Small Image: 貞吉悔亡，志行也。
Six in the fifth place
貞吉，无悔，君子之光，有孚，吉。
Steadfastness brings good fortune; no regret. The radiance of the noble person, with sincerity. Good fortune.
You ask for help with an open mind, people are glad to give it, and things start to pick up. Keep your word, and your strengths are likely to be seen. This is a very favorable line.
Small Image: 君子之光，其暉吉也。
Nine at the top
有孚于飲酒，无咎，濡其首，有孚失是。
With sincerity, drinking wine and waiting at ease: no blame. But if one indulges until the head is soaked, that sincerity has lost its proper measure through too much self-confidence.
You're nearly there, so you can loosen up and celebrate a little. Overdo it or trust yourself too much and you can spoil it, like getting sloppy at the launch party or spending money that hasn't arrived.
Small Image: 飲酒濡首，亦不知節也。
未濟，亨；柔得中也。小狐汔濟，未出中也。濡其尾，无攸利；不續終也。雖不當位，剛柔應也。
Wei Ji (Before Completion) has success, because the yielding line holds the central place. The little fox has nearly crossed: it has not yet come out of the middle of the danger. It wets its tail and nothing is favorable, because it cannot keep going through to the end. Although none of the lines stands in its fitting place, the firm and the yielding answer one another.
The Image火在水上，未濟；君子以慎辨物居方。
Fire above water: this is Wei Ji (Before Completion). The noble person, seeing this, carefully tells things apart and sets each in its proper place.
The Sequence: why it comes here物不可窮也，故受之以未濟；終焉。
Things never simply run out and stop. So Ji Ji (After Completion) is followed by Wei Ji (Before Completion), and the book closes on the unfinished: one cycle is completed, and the next one begins. Where Ji Ji is the crossing made, Wei Ji is the river still ahead.
Miscellaneous Notes歸妹女之終也，未濟男之窮也。
Gui Mei (The Marrying Maiden) is one life finding its lasting place; Wei Ji (Before Completion) is the firm side's road running out, the work still not done. Traditional commentaries add that all three firm lines of Wei Ji sit in yielding places. Gui Mei arrives, Wei Ji is still on the way.
Related hexagramsFAQ
What does Wei Ji mean for love?
There is someone you're getting to know, and you're both still feeling it out. The second line of Wei Ji (Before Completion) holds back the wheels: don't rush to make it official. Spend more time together and see them clearly before the next step. You're still adjusting to each other in Wei Ji (Before Completion). The Tuan commentary says the firm and the yielding answer one another: different temperaments can complement each other. Spell out who handles money and who plans the schedule, and conflict tends to drop.
What does Wei Ji mean for work?
Your search is midway; the outlook in Wei Ji (Before Completion) is open but nothing is final. The last interview and the salary talk are where haste costs most. Confirm the terms before saying yes, and don't quit your current job before the offer is in writing. The project is still underway, so don't ease off because it feels nearly finished. Get roles and order straight; the last mile is where mistakes tend to happen.
With Wei Ji, will what I am waiting for come?
It's still on its way, and news is slower than you hoped. In Wei Ji (Before Completion) fire sits above and water below, and the two haven't met. The result tends to come only once both sides' terms line up.
With Wei Ji, will I find what I lost?
A middling chance, and it will take some effort. Li (Fire) is bright places and hard shells, Kan (Water) is hidden things: look to the south, near lamps, inside a hard case or box, or underneath something piled on top.
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.