Also known as Before Completion, Not Yet Fording, Incomplete.
The characters 未濟 mean not yet across the river. Hexagram 64 is the last of the sixty-four, and it ends on an open note, not a closed one. The crossing is close but not done. Success is possible, but only with patience and care to the very end.
The figure
Fire over Water. Fire rises and water sinks, so they move apart and do each other no good. Every line is out of its proper place, yet each one pairs with a partner of the opposite kind. It is the opposite and reverse of hexagram 63.
The judgment
Not over yet, and it can still come out well. The young fox almost makes the far bank and drops its tail in. Nearly there is the dangerous part.
The young fox gets careless just short of the bank. Stay as careful at the end as you were at the start.
The image
Fire above, water below, neither doing the other any good. Sort out what belongs where before you try to move.
When things are out of order, find out where each one belongs before you act.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. You get your tail wet. Starting before you're ready is a humiliation.
- Line 2. You brake the wheels. Holding steady goes well.
- Line 3. Not yet across: pressing on now goes badly. Still, it pays to cross the great water once you've gathered help.
- Line 4. Steadiness goes well and regret fades. A hard campaign is fought and won over years, and it is rewarded.
- Line 5. Steadiness goes well, with no regret. The light of the wise person is real. It goes well.
- Line 6, at the top. Drinking wine in real confidence at the end. Not a mistake. But drink so much that you get your head wet, and you lose what you'd gained.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 64 says you're close, but not there. Slow down at the end, get things in order and keep your confidence without getting careless. The next stage is already beginning.