既濟

Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 10: Treading

既濟
After Completion
Water / Fire
Treading
Heaven / Lake
Changing LinesStable Lines

Changing Lines

This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 2, 3, 4, 6).

Line 2

六二 婦喪其茀。勿逐。七日得。

the matron
sàngloses
her
veil
do not
zhúpursue this
there will be seven
days
to gain

Six in the second place means: The woman loses the curtain of her carriage. Do not run after it; On the seventh day you will get it.

Line 3

九三 高宗伐鬼方。三年克之。小人勿用。

gāothe exalted
zōngancestor
subjugated
guǐthe barbarian
fāngcountry
sānit took
niányears
conquer
zhīit
xiǎothe lesser
rénpeople
were not at all
yònguseful

Nine in the third place means: The Illustrious Ancestor Disciplines the Devil's Country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.

Line 4

六四 繻有衣袽。終日戒。

the silk jacket
yǒuis
worn
to
zhōngthroughout
the day
jièbe

Six in the fourth place means: The finest clothes turn to rags. Be careful all day long.

Line 6

上六 濡其首。厲。

soaking
that
shǒuhead
harsh

Six at the top means: He gets his head in the water. Danger.

Trigram Changes

Upper TrigramWater HeavenThe Deep → The Creative
Lower TrigramFire LakeThe Clinging → The Joyous

Yilin Verse

夷羿所射,發輒有獲。矰加鵲鷹,雙鳥俱得。

What Yi of the eastern tribes shoots, each arrow finds its mark. The silk-corded arrow strikes hawk and magpie; both birds are taken together.

— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE

Commentary

Water sits above fire, and Archer Yi draws his bow — every shot finds its mark. His stringed arrow strikes both magpie and hawk; two birds fall with a single release. Yi, the divine bowman who shot down nine of the ten suns tormenting the earth, here embodies supreme precision and decisive action. From After Completion to Treading, the balanced arrangement yields to heaven above the lake — treading carefully where danger lurks. Yet this is not the timid treading of one who fears the tiger's tail; it is the marksman's confident step, measured and exact. Completion becomes disciplined conduct: knowing precisely where to aim, one walks fearlessly through perilous terrain.

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