Upper Trigram
離 Lí
Fire — Clinging
Lower Trigram
坎 Kǎn
Water — Abysmal
Classical Texts
The Judgment
Success. But if the little fox, after nearly completing the crossing, gets his tail in the water, there is nothing that would further. The conditions are difficult. The task is great and full of responsibility—nothing less than leading the world out of confusion back to order. But it is a task that promises success, because there is a goal that can unite the forces now tending in different directions. At first, however, one must move warily, like an old fox walking over ice. His ears are constantly alert to the cracking of the ice as he carefully searches out the safest spots. A young fox who has not acquired this caution goes ahead boldly and may fall in and get his tail wet. In times 'before completion,' deliberation and caution are the prerequisites of success.
The Lines
Line 1
He gets his tail in the water. Humiliating. In times of disorder there is a temptation to advance yourself as rapidly as possible in order to accomplish something tangible. But this enthusiasm leads only to failure and humiliation if the time for achievement has not yet arrived. In such a time it is wise to spare yourself the opprobrium of failure by holding back.
Line 2
He brakes his wheels. Persistence brings good fortune. The time to act has not yet come. But the patience needed is not that of idle waiting without thought of the morrow. Kept up indefinitely, this would not lead to any success. Instead, develop in yourself the strength that will enable you to go forward. You must have a vehicle to effect the crossing. But for the time being, use the brakes. Patience in the highest sense means putting brakes on strength.
Line 3
Before completion, attack brings misfortune. It furthers one to cross the great water. The time of transition has arrived, but you lack the strength to complete it. Attempting to force it would result in disaster. What is to be done? A new situation must be created; engage the energies of able helpers and in this fellowship take the decisive step—cross the great water. Then completion will become possible.
Line 4
Persistence brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. Shock, thus to discipline the Devil's Country. For three years, great realms are awarded. Now it is the time of struggle. The transition must be completed. Make yourself strong in resolution; this brings good fortune. All misgivings that might arise in such grave times of struggle must be silenced. It is a question of a fierce battle to break the forces of decadence. But the struggle also has its reward. Now is the time to lay the foundations of power and mastery for the future.
Line 5
Persistence brings good fortune. No remorse. The light of the superior person is true. Good fortune. The victory has been won. The power of steadfastness has not been routed. Everything has gone well. All misgivings have been overcome. Success has justified the deed. The light of a superior personality shines forth anew and makes its influence felt among those who have faith in it and rally around it. The new time has arrived, and with it good fortune.
Line 6
There is drinking of wine in genuine confidence. No blame. But if one wets his head, he loses it, in truth. Before completion, at the dawning of the new time, friends foregather in an atmosphere of mutual trust, and the time of waiting is passed in conviviality. Since the new era is hard on the threshold, there is no blame in this. But one must be careful to keep within proper bounds. If in exuberance a person gets drunk, they forfeit the favorableness of the situation through intemperance. The Book of Changes is a book of the future. Every end contains a new beginning. Thus it gives hope.
Yilin: Forest of Changes
From Jiao Yanshou's Forest of Changes (焦氏易林) — the verse for Hexagram 64 in its unchanging form. A Han dynasty collection of four-character verses interpreting every hexagram transformation.
忠慢未習，單酒糗脯。數至神前，欲求所顧，反得大患。
Devotion slack and rites unlearned; plain wine, dried meat and grain. Approaching the spirit again and again; seeking what one desires; instead receiving great calamity.
Read full commentary ↓
Fire above water, and the circle closes without resolution. The rites have been performed carelessly — the offerings are meager, just thin wine and dried meat. Repeated visits to the shrine seek divine favor, yet instead of blessings, great misfortune descends. The verse indicts ritual without sincerity: going through the motions with inferior offerings and expecting results. From Before Completion to Before Completion, the hexagram transforms into itself — the only pairing in the entire Yilin where source and target are identical. Nothing changes. The fire remains above the water, each element straining away from the other, forever. This is the Yi's ultimate statement on the cost of hollow devotion: when you bring nothing real to the altar, the cosmos returns you to exactly where you started.
中文注释
火在水上，循環不解。忠慢未習——敬意怠慢，禮儀未備。單酒糗脯——薄酒乾肉，祭品寒酸。數至神前——反覆至神靈之前。欲求所顧——希冀神明眷顧。反得大患——反而招致大禍。此詩控訴無誠之祭——形式敷衍、祭品潦草而妄求福佑。從未濟至未濟——全部四千零九十六卦變中唯一自身化自身之組合。什麼都沒有改變。火仍在水上，各據非位，永無交合。此為《易》對虛偽之終極判語：帶空手至祭壇，宇宙只會將你送回原點。慎辨物居方——未濟之自警，永不過時。
Related Hexagrams
Same upper trigram: Fire (離)
Same lower trigram: Water (坎)