Hexagram 64 · 火水未济
Before Completion
Fire · Li palace
Not yet finished; orderly effort in the final stretch.
Meaning
Fire above water: the elements not yet arranged correctly. Before Completion describes a situation that is genuinely close to resolution but not there.
Decision Framework
Finish carefully; do not rush the last stage.
Decision Guidance
Before Completion is the final hexagram and the reading of unfinished work. Everything is nearly in order, but the arrangement has not yet settled, and the outcome still depends on what happens next.
The classical advice is to proceed with a clear head and orderly sequence, with particular emphasis on the last stages. It warns against the two obvious mistakes at this point: celebrating as though the result were already secured, and rushing the closing moves to get it over with. The hexagram's underlying tone is optimistic—the cycle ends unfinished, and that is the point: completion is always followed by a new beginning.
Judgment — Classical Text
亨。小狐汔济，濡其尾，无攸利。
EN Success. The little fox, almost across, wets its tail — nothing furthers.
The Six Lines — Classical Text
初六：濡其尾，吝。
EN Initial six: wetting the tail — regret.
九二：曳其轮，贞吉。
EN Nine in the second: dragging the wheel — perseverance brings good fortune.
六三：未济，征凶，利涉大川。
EN Six in the third: not yet across — advancing brings misfortune; crossing the great water furthers.
九四：贞吉悔亡，震用伐鬼方。
EN Nine in the fourth: perseverance brings good fortune and regret vanishes; shaken, he attacks the demon realm — three years of reward from the great kingdom.
六五：贞吉无悔，君子之光。
EN Six in the fifth: perseverance brings good fortune, no regret — the noble one's light: sincerity and good fortune.
上九：有孚于饮酒，无咎。
EN Topmost nine: sincere in drinking wine — no blame; but if you wet your head, sincerity is lost in excess.
Keywords
I Ching hexagram 64, Before Completion hexagram, Wei Ji hexagram meaning, hexagram for unfinished work