Hexagram 64 of 64
Not Yet Across
未濟 Wèi Jì
Upper trigram: 離 Lí, fire
Lower trigram: 坎 Kǎn, water
The judgment
亨。小狐汔濟，濡其尾，无攸利。
Success. The small fox has nearly crossed and wets its tail. Nothing is favorable.
The Great Image
火在水上，未濟；君子以慎辨物居方。
Fire above water: this is Not Yet Across. In the same way, the noble person carefully tells things apart and places them where they belong.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初六
濡其尾，吝。
Wetting its tail. Shame.
A wet tail at the very start suggests the fox set off before it could manage the water. Ask what you would need to know before you begin.
Line 2 九二
曳其輪，貞吉。
Dragging its wheels. Holding firm brings good fortune.
Here the drag on the wheels is the right move. Consider what you could slow down on purpose while the water is still ahead.
Line 3 六三
未濟，征凶，利涉大川。
Not yet across. Setting out brings misfortune. It is fitting to cross the great river.
The line calls setting out unwise and calls the crossing fitting in the same breath. Ask what separates a rash departure from a well-prepared one in your own case.
Line 4 九四
貞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。
Holding firm brings good fortune. Regret goes. With shaking force, attacking the Guifang. In three years there is reward from the great state.
An old campaign is remembered here for its reward after three hard years. Without praising the conquest, ask what long effort you would commit to, and who would be there to recognize it.
Line 5 六五
貞吉，无悔，君子之光，有孚，吉。
Holding firm brings good fortune. No regret. The light of the noble person. There is trust. Good fortune.
The light here comes from a person's character and is backed by trust. Consider how you could let the quality of your conduct be the thing others notice.
Line 6 上九
有孚于飲酒，无咎，濡其首，有孚失是。
There is trust in the drinking of wine. No blame. Wetting the head: there is trust, and what is right is lost.
Sharing a cup in good faith is fine in this line until someone's head goes under. Ask where ease with people you trust could tip into losing your judgment.
What this hexagram says
This hexagram is water below and fire above, the reverse of the one before it. Fire rises and water sinks, so the two move apart and nothing is yet cooked. It is the last of the sixty-four and stands for a crossing still under way.
The judgment pictures a young fox that has almost reached the far bank and gets its tail wet. It calls the situation a success and then says nothing is favorable. Ask what you would do differently if the last few steps were the hardest.
If your question is about a project close to done, a relationship still taking shape or a change you have only begun, tradition reads this as a time for sorting things out with care. The top line is a caution against celebrating so freely that you lose your footing before you reach the other side.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/未濟), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In line 九四, Wikisource (A) keeps 大國 (great state) and adds the note 一作「邦」, an alternative reading with 邦, another word for a state.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.