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Hexagram 64

I Ching hexagram 64: Before Completion (Wei ji)

Wei Ji, Before Completion, is the hexagram of the near-crossing: everything is ready, nothing is settled, and attention is still called for.

  • transition
  • attention
  • new beginning
The essentials

Wei ji at a glance

For you, Wei Ji describes a moment that is nearly done: advance with care, examine each thing in its place, and do not spoil the last step.

A strength

Intact potential, on the threshold of completion, with all possibilities still open.

Something to watch

Letting up at the last moment, like the young fox that grows impatient and wets its tail.

What it advises
Advance steadily toward the goal, tell what is ready from what is not, and keep your attention to the very last step.
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The situation

Wei Ji is the last figure of the I Ching: the book closes on something unfinished. The judgment speaks of progress and success, but compares the scene to a young fox almost across the ford, who wets its tail: no advantage that way.

The lines are all in the position opposite to balance, while still answering one another. Nothing is stabilized, but everything can become so. This is the lesson of cycles: order always has to be made anew, and you prepare for it with more reflection than momentum.

The lines advise gauging your strength. One reckless youngster gets wet, another holds back his wheel, another sets out steadily, up to the quiet feast of the outcome. Wei Ji invites you to finish without hurrying, with method.

The image: Fire above Water

  • AboveFire: clarity that clings
  • BelowWater: the risky passage

Fire above Water: each stays on its own side and they do not meet. According to the commentary, the wise person examines things carefully and sets them in their right place.

Consult the I Ching

Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.

Throw the coins

Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions

The six lines

  1. 1st line (bottom) · brokenA fox wetting its tail as it crosses: regret follows. Dashing ahead without measuring the cost has a price.
  2. 2nd line · solidBraking the wheel of your carriage: with steadiness, good fortune. Knowing how to hold back your momentum.
  3. 3rd line · brokenAdvancing when nothing is yet settled goes badly; yet the ancient text judges it useful to cross the great river, with the proper precautions.
  4. 4th line · solidStaying upright brings good fortune and regrets fade. Setting out with vigor, as on a long expedition, and rewards come after three years.
  5. 5th line · brokenStaying upright: good fortune, no regret. The light of the person of worth and their sincerity are recognized.
  6. 6th line (top) · solidDrinking and feasting in trust, no fault. But pushing trust to the point of drowning in it, like the fox with its head wet, loses what is right.

Wei ji in your life

In love

In matters of the heart, Wei Ji highlights a bond under construction: do not rush the stage that remains, let trust settle in.

At work

For projects under way, Wei Ji describes a project that is nearly finished: check the order of tasks, take care over the final phase, and avoid slackening at the finish.

The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.

How is it built?

Character
未濟 (wèi jì)
Number
64 in the King Wen sequence
Trigrams
Fire (離) above, Water (坎) below
Inner hexagram
63. After Completion (Ji ji) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
Symbol
䷿ (U+4DFF)

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 64

What does hexagram 64 of the I Ching mean?

Hexagram 64, Wei Ji, means before completion: a moment that is nearly done, where everything is possible but nothing is secured, to be finished with care.

Why does the I Ching end with Wei Ji?

The book is one of change: the ancient text does not conclude on a perfect state, but on a new beginning. After completion there is always a new crossing.

Related hexagrams

The figures that answer it

The 64 hexagrams