未濟
“Not Yet Fording” — King Wen #64
Before the crossing. The fox wets its tail: not yet complete — care and order finish the work.
The Judgment 卦辞
亨，小狐汔濟，濡其尾，無攸利。
Wei Ji intimates progress and success (in the circumstances which it implies). (We see) a young fox that has nearly crossed (the stream), when its tail gets immersed. There will be no advantage in any way.— The I Ching, trans. James Legge, 1899 (public domain)1
The Six Lines 爻辞
濡其尾，吝。
The first SIX, divided, shows its subject (like a fox) whose tail gets immersed. There will be occasion for regret.
曳其輪，貞吉。
The second NINE, undivided, shows its subject dragging back his (carriage-) wheel. With firmness and correctness there will be good fortune.
未濟，征凶，利涉大川。
The third SIX, divided, shows its subject, with (the state of things) not yet remedied, advancing on; which will lead to evil. But there will be advantage in (trying to) cross the great stream.
貞吉，悔亡；震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。
The fourth NINE, undivided, shows its subject by firm correctness obtaining good fortune, so that all occasion for repentance disappears. Let him stir himself up, as if he were invading the Demon region, where for three years rewards will come to him (and his troops) from the great kingdom.
貞吉，無悔；君子之光，有孚，吉。
The fifth SIX, divided, shows its subject by firm correctness obtaining good fortune, and having no occasion for repentance. (We see in him) the brightness of a superior man, and the possession of sincerity. There will be good fortune.
有孚于飲酒；無咎，濡其首，有孚失是。
The topmost NINE, undivided, shows its subject full of confidence and therefore feasting (quietly). There will be no error. (If he) cherish this confidence, till he (is like the fox who) gets his head immersed, it will fail of what is right.
Reading the Picture
Hexagram 64 places water (坎) beneath fire (离) —water finding its way through hard gaps below, light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates above. This is why the tradition reads it as “Not Yet Fording”:before the crossing. The fox wets its tail: not yet complete — care and order finish the work Whenever you cast this figure, the classical reading points back to that turning of forces.
Questions About Hexagram 64
What does 未濟 (wèi jì) mean?
Hexagram 64 of the I Ching is named 未濟 (wèi jì), usually rendered "Not Yet Fording" in English editions. Its figure pairs water (坎) below with fire (离) above.
Which trigrams form hexagram 64?
离 (Fire) sits above and 坎 (Water) sits below — the classical picture is water finding its way through hard gaps beneath light and clarity clinging to what it illuminates.
How is hexagram 64 related to the other hexagrams?
Changing every line of hexagram 64 gives hexagram 63 — 既濟 (Already Fording). Turned upside down it becomes hexagram 63 — 既濟 (Already Fording). Its nuclear hexagram — the inner pattern of lines 2 through 5 — is hexagram 63 — 既濟 (Already Fording).
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1 Legge, James. The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. XVI (1899), public domain. Classical Chinese from the received Zhouyi text. · For reflection and entertainment — not financial, medical, or life advice.