既濟Jiji · After Completion
In one sentence
The thing is already accomplished. What you most need to guard against now is slackening.
You have crossed the river and everything is in place. But this hexagram says: good fortune at the start, disorder at the end. Hold on to what you have achieved. While nothing has gone wrong yet, think of the problems first and take precautions. Do not reach for anything bigger.
Asking about work, love or money
- Work
- The thing has been accomplished, and everything is in place. What you most need to guard against now is slackening: good fortune at the start, disorder easily at the end. While nothing has gone wrong yet, think of what could go wrong and guard against it. Keep what you've achieved, make small repairs, and don't ride the good run into grabbing for something bigger.
- Love
- The relationship is settled, each of you in your place. That is exactly when carelessness sets in: you feel secure, and stop putting your heart into it. Trouble often starts right there. While things are still good, watch for small cracks and mend them early. Keep what you have now, and don't go looking for excitement elsewhere just because things are secure.
- Money
- The money has been earned, and the accounts are balanced. What matters now is keeping, not expanding further. While you have room, think ahead to what might go wrong and set reserves aside. Don't loosen your grip on your money because things have gone smoothly, and above all don't grab for more. When something already accomplished fails, it mostly fails in the later stage.
This is the hexagram as a whole. If your cast has changing lines, the line text governs; each line's page has its own reading for work, love and money.
The judgment
In plain wordsThings go through in a small way, and it is favorable to stay true. The beginning is fortunate, but toward the end things easily fall into disorder. It is once the thing is done that you most need to be on guard.
The Tuan commentary
既濟，亨，小者亨也。利貞，剛柔正而位當也。初吉，柔得中也。終止則亂，其道窮也。
Jiji, "success": it is the small that succeeds. "It is favorable to stay true": the firm and the yielding are correct and in their proper places. "Good fortune at the beginning": the yielding holds the center. Stopping at the end brings disorder: its way is exhausted.
The Tuan (“judgment”) commentary is one of the Ten Wings. It explains the hexagram name and the judgment from the two trigrams and the positions of the lines.
The image
水在火上，既濟。君子以思患而豫防之。
Water over fire: Jiji (After Completion). The noble one thinks of trouble and guards against it in advance.
The lines
Nine at the beginning
Text曳其輪，濡其尾，无咎。Dragging back the wheels, wetting the tail. No blame.In plain wordsHold the cartwheels back so they do not roll forward; the fox crossing the river gets its tail wet first. The thing has only just been accomplished, and being this careful and unhurried brings no blame. More on this line →
Six in the second place
Text婦喪其茀，勿逐，七日得。The wife loses her carriage screen. Do not chase it. In seven days it is regained.In plain wordsThe wife has lost the curtain of her carriage and cannot go out. There is no need to look for it; in a few days it will come back by itself. You have real ability, and for the moment those above have no use for you, but the right way will not be set aside forever. More on this line →
Nine in the third place
Text高宗伐鬼方，三年克之，小人勿用。Gaozong attacks the Demon Land and conquers it in three years. Do not employ petty people.In plain wordsGaozong made war on the Demon Land and needed three years to conquer it. A great undertaking after things have been accomplished costs time and strength, and must not be started lightly. And once it is won, petty people must not be given office. More on this line →
Six in the fourth place
Text繻有衣袽，終日戒。There is a leak, and there are rags to stop it. Be on guard all day long.In plain wordsThe boat will leak; keep rags at hand to plug the holes, and stay on guard the whole day. The thing is already accomplished, and that is all the more reason to be watchful at every moment. More on this line →
Nine in the fifth place
Text東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之禴祭，實受其福。The eastern neighbor slaughters an ox. It does not equal the western neighbor's simple offering, which truly receives the blessing.In plain wordsThe neighbor to the east slaughters an ox for a grand sacrifice, yet it is not as good as the plain, simple offering of the neighbor to the west, who actually receives the blessing. Display counts for less than timing and sincerity; the one at the height of his power is not as well off as the one who is just coming into his own. More on this line →
Six at the top
Text濡其首，厲。The head gets wet. Danger.In plain wordsThe fox crossing the river gets even its head soaked. Danger. After success you forgot to stay on guard and went in too deep. More on this line →
Lines are counted from the bottom. “Nine” is a yang (solid) line, “six” a yin (broken) line. A line applies to your reading only when it is a changing line.
Related hexagrams
Primary, resulting, nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams explained →
In the hexagram calendar
In the Tang monk Yixing’s Dayan calendar, Jiji belongs to the second pentad of Start of Winter, “The ground begins to freeze” (November 12 to November 16, 2026).