Weiji :: Not Yet Across

Offering :: Not quite across the water :: The young fox gets a wet tail : unfavorable

末濟

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6 :: first

Getting the tail wet. Trouble.

You have over-estimated your abilities or miscalculated the auspices of the time. You are embarrassed or disgraced.

9 :: second

Cartwheels drag in the mud. Auspicious.

You have come to a natural slow-down in progress but are not obstructed. You are bogged down, but capable and ready to move on slowly. Slowing down brings good fortune.

6 :: third

Not yet across. It is disastrous for military expeditions.
It is auspicious for fording the river.

You are already making progress but you need a flexible strategy to avoid con-flict. Concentrate on safety and continuity, not on speed and aggression. One thing at a time is the formula for success.

9 :: fourth

Auspicious. Like Zhen defeating Guifang.¹ In three years rewarded by Shang.

You are definitely up to the task before you, but it will take consistently good management to carry through to success. In the end you will be rewarded and accepted by those with established power.

9 :: fifth

Auspicious. There is glory for the ruler. Sacrifices.

You succeed completely. Distributing rewards and modest celebrations are in order.

6 :: top

Sacrifices and wine drinking. No misfortune.
Getting the head wet. Losing the spoon.

You need to curb your enthusiasm. Celebration allows emotions to flow and bonds to be made, but it is important to stop before exaggeration and overstatement obscure what is important (ritual spoon).

Image

Weift is, like Jiji (63), about the never-ending cycle of change. The young fox gets his tail wet crossing the frozen river because the ice is not completely formed. The new arrives before its time. Innocence is not as appropriate at the end as it is in the beginning.

Auspices

Expect to be unfulfilled at first and then later satisfied. The old has not quite turned into the new.

Good for waiting and preparation, education, and growth.

Bad for pressing forward, conflict, lawsuits, examinations, and travel.

Comment

Weiji, like Jiji (63), says, paradoxically at the end of the text, that things do not end.

Weiji tells us that when things end a new beginning is inherent and naturally arises from the conclusion.

It is like the Taiji diagram divided into yin and yang with each half containing the seed of its opposite. The transition from old to new is the essence of change and each step should be taken slowly and then savored with modesty and sincerity. It would not be appropriate to get blithering drunk at your retirement party. Gracefully accepting loss (retirement) and respectfully gaining influence (promotion) should both be done with spiritual dignity.

Other Correspondences

Business: Planning new ventures and acquiring old property or companies.

Disharmonies: Injury, liver qi stagnation, spleen deficiency, and relapse of childhood illness.

Prognosis: Poor. The patient is diagnosed incorrectly or does not complete treatment.