未濟 → 小畜
Hexagram 64: Before Completion → Hexagram 9: Small Taming
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 4, 5).
Line 1
初六 濡其尾。吝。
Six at the beginning means: He gets his tail in the water. Humiliating.
Line 3
六三 未濟征凶。利涉大川。
Six in the third place means: Before completion, attack brings misfortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Line 4
九四 貞吉悔亡。震用伐鬼方。三年有賞于大國。
Nine in the fourth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. Remorse disappears. Shock, thus to discipline the Devil's Country. For three years, great realms are awarded.
Line 5
六五 貞吉无悔。君子之光。有孚吉。
Six in the fifth place means: Perseverance brings good fortune. No remorse. The light of the superior man is true. Good fortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
騎龍乘風，上見神公。彭祖受刺，王喬贊通，巫咸就位，拜福无窮。
Riding the dragon, mounting the wind; ascending to meet the Divine Duke. Pengzu receives the needle; Wang Qiao assists the passage; Wuxian takes his throne; blessings without limit are conferred.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Fire above water, and a figure rides a dragon on the wind, ascending to meet the divine lords. Pengzu receives the acupuncture needle, Wang Qiao facilitates passage, and the shaman Wu Xian takes his seat — blessings flow without end. The verse assembles a pantheon of immortals and wonder-workers. Pengzu, legendary for his 800-year lifespan, here receives rather than dispenses longevity arts. Wang Qiao, the Zhou prince turned immortal, serves as intermediary. Wu Xian, the great shaman of Shang, presides over the rite. From Before Completion to Small Taming, the restless fire-over-water transforms into wind moving gently above heaven. The wild dragon ride resolves into refined cultural cultivation — heaven's power channeled not through force but through the gentle, persistent influence of accumulated virtue.
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