In love
As a couple, Ji Ji emphasizes a balance that has been found: feed it with regular gestures, without assuming it is guaranteed.
Hexagram 63
I Ching hexagram 63: After Completion (Ji ji)
Ji Ji, After Completion, is the hexagram of the goal reached: consolidate the details, because a balance once gained can still come undone.
- completion
- vigilance
- consolidation
The essentials
Ji ji at a glance
For you, Ji Ji marks a goal reached: watch the details and do not let your attention slip, because a balance has to be maintained.
A strength
A balance achieved, in which everything is in its place and answers to everything else.
Something to watch
Resting on the result too soon: the ancient text speaks of a fortunate beginning and an end that may fall into disorder.
- What it advises
- Consolidate what has been reached, anticipate the weak points, and act with a quiet caution rather than a fresh surge.
- Its opposite
- 64. Before Completion (Wei ji)
The situation
Ji Ji denotes the river crossed, the work completed. The ancient text grants success in small things, with the instruction to stay upright. It also notes that after a good beginning, disorder may come. Completion is not a final full stop.
Every line of the figure is in its place and answers its counterpart: it is the image of perfect balance. But the I Ching is the book of change, and this state does not last. Hence the cautious tone of the lines: calm your momentum right after the crossing, do not chase what has been lost, do not entrust an expedition to inexperienced people, plan for leaks, prefer sincerity to sumptuousness.
Ji Ji invites you to consolidate quietly, and to look closely at what could come undone.
The image: Water above Fire
- AboveWater: the risky passage
- BelowFire: clarity that clings
Water above Fire: the flame heats the water, which may boil over. The commentary draws a rule from it: think of the possible reverse and guard against it in advance.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · solidBraking your wheel, like the fox that has wet its tail: no fault. Right after the crossing, better not to dash ahead.
- 2nd line · brokenA woman loses the screen of her carriage: no use chasing it, it will return in seven days. What is lost is found again.
- 3rd line · solidA long expedition against a distant region, lasting three years: unqualified people should not be committed to it.
- 4th line · brokenRags to plug the leaks in the boat, and vigilance all day long: caution at the heart of completion.
- 5th line · solidThe neighbor to the east sacrifices an ox, but the neighbor to the west’s humble offering receives more. Sincerity counts for more than scale.
- 6th line (top) · brokenThe head plunged into the water: the situation is perilous. Having gone too far after completion leaves you exposed.
Ji ji in your life
At work
In your work, Ji Ji speaks of a completed project: document, stabilize, train, and anticipate what could jam the whole.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 既濟 (jì jì)
- Number
- 63 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Water (坎) above, Fire (離) below
- Inner hexagram
- 64. Before Completion (Wei ji) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 64. Before Completion (Wei ji)
- Symbol
- ䷾ (U+4DFE)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 63
What does hexagram 63 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 63, Ji Ji, means after completion: a goal reached, a balance in which everything is in its place, but which has to be maintained with vigilance.
How are hexagrams 63 and 64 related?
They are mirror images of each other. Ji Ji is the work completed, Wei Ji the work not yet completed. The I Ching thus ends on a new beginning.
Related hexagrams