Fire above water: each goes its own way and they do not yet work together. Wei Ji is the last hexagram of the book, and it is unfinished: every line is out of its proper place, but every line is matched with a partner. It is the moment just before completion, full of promise and risk. Careful, step-by-step work and discernment can bring things into order.
Judgment
未濟：亨，小狐汔濟，濡其尾，无攸利。
Not yet across: success. The young fox, almost over, wets its tail. Nothing is favorable.
Image
火在水上，未濟；君子以慎辨物居方。
Fire over water: not yet across. Taking this as a model, the noble one is careful to tell things apart and to set each where it belongs.
- The moment before completion
- Promise and risk
- Careful discernment
- Putting things in order
- Endless renewal
- transition
- potential
- caution
- discernment
- order
- beginning
- Close to the goal is when care matters most.
- Sort things out and put each in its place.
- Every ending is also a beginning.
The six lines
Lines are numbered from the bottom. In a reading, only the lines that are changing apply to your cast.
Line 1Six at the beginning 初六
Line text
濡其尾，吝。
Getting one's tail wet: regret.
Rushing forward before conditions are ready leads to embarrassment. It's too early to attempt the crossing.
- Premature attempt
- Embarrassment
- Trying before you're ready
- Waiting for the right conditions
Line 2Nine in the second place 九二
Line text
曳其輪，貞吉。
Dragging the wheels back. Steadfastness: good fortune.
You hold back deliberately even though you could move. Patience and readiness, without giving up the goal, bring good fortune.
- Deliberate restraint
- Readiness
- Moving too soon
- Strength gathered for the right moment
Line 3Six in the third place 六三
Line text
未濟，征凶，利涉大川。
Not yet across. Setting out brings misfortune. Favorable to cross the great river.
Your own strength isn't enough to complete the transition. Undertaking it alone would fail, but a bold new approach with help can carry you over.
- Insufficient strength alone
- Bold new approach
- Forcing through on your own
- Crossing with support and a fresh plan
Line 4Nine in the fourth place 九四
Line text
貞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。
Steadfastness: good fortune; regret passes. With the force of thunder one attacks the Guifang. After three years there is reward from the great realm.
Now is the time for a determined, sustained effort. It will take time and energy, but it will be rewarded.
- Sustained determined effort
- Reward over time
- Giving up partway through
- Lasting success after a long struggle
Line 5Six in the fifth place 六五
Line text
貞吉，无悔，君子之光，有孚，吉。
Steadfastness: good fortune, no regret. The light of the noble one shines with sincerity. Good fortune.
The crossing succeeds. The light of a good character and sincere cooperation make the new situation shine.
- Success achieved
- Shining character
- Taking all the credit
- A bright new beginning
Line 6Nine at the top 上九
Line text
有孚于飲酒，无咎，濡其首，有孚失是。
Sincere and confident, drinking wine: no blame. But if one gets one's head wet, the confidence misses its mark.
Celebrate the approach of completion with confidence and companionship. But overindulgence, losing your head, ruins it.
- Celebration with measure
- Not losing your head
- Excess in celebration
- Joyful, measured anticipation of what comes next
Related hexagrams
Have a question on your mind?
Cast a readingChinese text: Zhouyi 周易 (received classical text). English rendering and notes: Site rendering. About our sources
Commentary
The I Ching ends not with completion but with "not yet completed". After the perfect order of After Completion comes this inverted image: fire rising, water sinking, every line in the wrong place, yet each connected to its counterpart. Change never stops; the end opens onto a new beginning. The reading may suggest that you are close to a goal or a transition, with real potential and real danger.
The judgment's young fox, wetting its tail just before reaching the far bank, warns against premature confidence. The image prescribes the method: careful discernment, putting things where they belong. In relation to a question, Wei Ji may emphasize patience in the final stretch, careful organization and the hope inherent in an unfinished situation.