I Ching hexagram 64
Hexagram 64: Wei Ji
Not Yet Across · 火水未濟 · Fire above, Water below
You are just short of the goal, and care in the last stretch matters most.
What this hexagram is about
A situation is nearly there, and the danger lies in hurrying the last steps. Wei Ji (Not Yet Across) is the hexagram of the unfinished crossing, with fire above water and each out of reach of the other.
A way to think about it
How close are you to finishing something, and how much of your energy is left for the last stretch? Look at what the final steps will take before you start them.
The text, with Legge's translation
Judgment
亨。小狐汔濟，濡其尾，无攸利。
Wei Žî intimates progress and success (in the circumstances which it implies). (We see) a young fox that has nearly crossed (the stream), when its tail gets immersed. There will be no advantage in any way.
Progress is open, since the crossing is still ahead. Then comes a warning picture, a young fox that almost reaches the far bank and wets its tail, with nothing favorable in it.
Image
火在水上，未濟；君子以慎辨物居方。
(The trigram representing) water and that for fire above it form Wei Žî. The superior man, in accordance with this, carefully discriminates among (the qualities of) things, and the (different) positions they (naturally) occupy.
Line 1 · 初六
濡其尾，吝。
The first line, divided, shows its subject (like a fox) whose tail gets immersed. There will be occasion for regret.
You rush in at the very start without the strength to finish, and your tail gets wet. It is a cause for embarrassment.
Line 2 · 九二
曳其輪，貞吉。
The second line, undivided, shows its subject dragging back his (carriage-) wheel. With firmness and correctness there will be good fortune.
Dragging the wheel back slows your own progress while you wait for the right moment. Staying steady like this goes well.
Line 3 · 六三
未濟，征凶，利涉大川。
The third line, divided, shows its subject, with (the state of things) not yet remedied, advancing on; which will lead to evil. But there will be advantage in (trying to) cross the great stream.
Not across yet, you meet trouble if you charge ahead alone. The text also calls it a good time to cross the great river, which commentators usually read as crossing with proper help.
Line 4 · 九四
貞吉，悔亡，震用伐鬼方，三年有賞于大國。
The fourth line, undivided, shows its subject by firm correctness obtaining good fortune, so that all occasion for repentance disappears. Let him stir himself up, as if he were invading the Demon region, where for three years rewards will come to him (and his troops) from the great kingdom.
Steady conduct works in your favor and the regret fades. You rouse yourself for a long campaign, and the line speaks of a reward from the great state after three years of effort.
Line 5 · 六五
貞吉，无悔，君子之光，有孚，吉。
The fifth line, divided, shows its subject by firm correctness obtaining good fortune, and having no occasion for repentance. (We see in him) the brightness of a superior man, and the possession of sincerity. There will be good fortune.
You hold steady and leave nothing to regret. The text calls this the light of a capable person, whose sincerity others can trust, and the verdict is good.
Line 6 · 上九
有孚于飲酒，无咎，濡其首，有孚失是。
The topmost line, undivided, shows its subject full of confidence and therefore feasting (quietly). There will be no error. (If he) cherish this confidence, till he (is like the fox who) gets his head immersed, it will fail of what is right.
Near the end you can feast with confidence, and nothing is wrong with that. If you carry it on until you are soaked to the head, confidence loses its sense of what is right.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi, public domain. English: James Legge, The Yi King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882), public domain. Plain notes written by this site.
Questions
I cast hexagram 64. Which text do I read?
With no changing lines, read the judgment: "Wei Žî intimates progress and success (in the circumstances which it implies). (We see) a young fox that has nearly crossed (the stream), when its tail gets immersed. There will be no advantage in any way." With changing lines, read the lines that changed. When several change at once, Zhu Xi's rules decide which text leads, and the casting page marks it for you.
What are the nuclear, opposite and inverted hexagrams of Wei Ji?
The nuclear hexagram is 63. Ji Ji (Completion). The opposite is 63. Ji Ji (Completion). The inverted hexagram is 63. Ji Ji (Completion).