After Completion
Water (坎 Kǎn) above, Fire (離 Lí) below
Published July 22, 2026 · By Oriens
I Ching Hexagram 63, 既濟 (Jì Jì), represents After Completion.
SourceZhouyi (周易, The Book of Changes) — hexagram 63 (既濟 Jì Jì). Chinese source: Chinese Text Project, based on 《武英殿十三經注疏》本《周易正義》 (ctp:book-of-changes/ji-ji). Judgment: received Zhouyi hexagram statement (卦辭). English: Translation by Oriens Editorial Translation. Image: Xiang / Image commentary layer (象傳), distinct from the Judgment and line texts. Image and line English: named translation by James Legge, The Yî King (1899), public-domain translation; online reproduction. The named translation is used for the Image and line statements only.
1. Judgment (卦辭 Guàcí)
既濟：亨，小利貞，初吉終亂。
Oriens Editorial Translation: Small success; steadfastness is fruitful. At first, good fortune; at the end, disorder.
2. Image (象 Xiàng / Xiang commentary)
水在火上,既济。君子以思患而预防之。
James Legge: (The trigram representing) fire and that for water above it form Ki Zi. The superior man, in accordance with this, thinks of evil (that may come), and beforehand guards against it.
3. Line Statements (爻辭 Yáocí)
Line 1 of 6 (from the bottom):
初九：曳其輪，濡其尾，无咎。
James Legge: The first NINE, undivided, (shows its subject as a driver) who drags back his wheel, (or as a fox) which has wet his tail. There will be no error.
Line 2 of 6 (from the bottom):
六二：婦喪其茀，勿逐，七日得。
James Legge: The second SIX, divided, (shows its subject as) a wife who has lost her (carriage-)screen. There is no occasion to go in pursuit of it. In seven days she will find it.
Line 3 of 6 (from the bottom):
九三：高宗伐鬼方，三年克之，小人勿用。
James Legge: The third NINE, undivided, (suggests the case of) Kao Zung, who attacked the Demon region, but was three years in subduing it. Small men should not be employed (in such enterprises).
Line 4 of 6 (from the bottom):
六四：繻有衣袽，終日戒。
James Legge: The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject with rags provided against any leak (in his boat), and on his guard all day long.
Line 5 of 6 (from the bottom):
九五：東鄰殺牛，不如西鄰之禴祭，實受其福。
James Legge: The fifth NINE, undivided, shows its subject (as) the neighbour in the east who slaughters an ox (for his sacrifice); but this is not equal to the (small) spring sacrifice of the neighbour in the west, whose sincerity receives the blessing.
Line 6 of 6 (from the bottom):
上六：濡其首，厲。
James Legge: The topmost SIX, divided, shows its subject with (even) his head immersed. The position is perilous.
For the general method for changing lines and relating hexagrams, see How to Read the I Ching.
4. Modern Interpretation (Oriens commentary)
This is an Oriens interpretation, not part of the Zhouyi text.
After Completion can prompt a reader to ask what has just been finished, what maintains it, and what early signals deserve attention while things still run smoothly. Oriens frames that maintenance question as an invitation to name the work that sustains a result rather than assuming success is self-sustaining.
The Chinese source and translation provenance are identified above. The Judgment is an Oriens Editorial Translation; the Image and line statements are labeled with James Legge. This keeps the modern reflection separate from both the received text and the named translation.
That reflection does not promise that a project will succeed or fail, that decline follows achievement on any timeline, or that vigilance guarantees safety. Health, financial, legal, employment, and relationship decisions belong within their appropriate professional and personal contexts.
Continue with the Hexagram 63 card and the I Ching guide; these are reading paths, not additional predictions.