Hexagram 63: After Completion

Hexagram 63, After Completion (Jì Jì, 既济), is formed of the upper trigram Water (坎) over the lower trigram Fire (离). Below is the classical judgment, the six line texts, and how to read this hexagram in a reading.

The Judgment

Trigrams

The outer (upper) trigram Water describes the situation as it meets the world; the inner (lower) trigram Fire describes its inner disposition. Together they set the theme of After Completion.

The Six Lines

• 初九 · Line 1 Dragging the wheel, wetting the tail — braking at the start. No blame.曳其轮，濡其尾，无咎。
• 六二 · Line 2 The lady loses her carriage-screen: do not chase it — in seven days, recovered.妇丧其茀，勿逐，七日得。
• 九三 · Line 3 The high king subdues the borderland in three years: do not then employ the petty.高宗伐鬼方，三年克之；小人勿用。
• 六四 · Line 4 Fine robes turn to rags: stay vigilant all day long.繻有衣袽，终日戒。
• 九五 · Line 5 The eastern neighbor's grand ox-offering earns less blessing than the western neighbor's simple, sincere one.东邻杀牛，不如西邻之禴祭，实受其福。
• 上六 · Line 6 The head goes under — danger.濡其首，厉。

Reading Hexagram 63 for Your Question

When After Completion appears without changing lines, the judgment above stands as the whole answer. When you cast changing lines (a 6 or a 9), read those line texts first — they are the most specific guidance — then look to the relating hexagram they form for where the situation is heading. For love, career, or a decision, apply the theme of After Completion to your own circumstances rather than reading it as a fixed prediction.