They hold back their wheels. They get their tail into the water. No fault.

In times after a great transition, everything is bent on progress and development and presses forward. But pressing forward like this at the beginning is not good, and it is sure to lead to loss and a fall, because one overshoots the mark. A strong character therefore does not let the general giddiness infect them, but holds back their course in time. Such a person may not stay wholly untouched by the harmful consequences of the general rush, but these catch them only from behind, as they would a fox that has already crossed the water and gets only its tail into the water, and can do them no real harm, since their conduct has hit on what is right.

The wife loses her carriage curtain. Do not chase after it; it comes back to you on the seventh day.

A woman who rode in a carriage had a curtain to hide her from the eyes of the curious. If this curtain was lost, it would have been against good manners to ride on. Applied to public life, this means that someone who wants to achieve something does not receive from those in authority the confidence that is needed, so to speak, as personal protection. It is precisely in times after completion that one may find those in power growing proud and self-assured and no longer troubling to take notice of unknown talent.

As a rule, this gives rise to careerism. If one is shown no confidence from above, one looks for ways and means to find it and to bring oneself to notice. Such an unworthy course, however, is advised against. "Do not chase after it". Instead of throwing yourself away on the outside world, wait calmly and develop your personal worth on your own. Times change. Once the hexagram's six stages have passed, the new era comes. What belongs to one cannot be lost for good. It comes to one entirely of its own accord. One need only be able to wait.

The High Ancestor chastises the Devil's Land. After three years he overcomes it. Petty people must not be employed.

The "High Ancestor" is the dynastic title of the ruler Wu Ding of the Yin dynasty. After he had used a strong hand to put the affairs of the empire in order, he waged protracted colonial wars to subjugate the northern border regions inhabited by Huns, from which incursions constantly threatened. The situation depicted is that after times of completion, once a new power has emerged and all is in order within, colonial expansion begins with a certain inevitability. As a rule, this means reckoning with protracted struggles. But here the right colonial policy is especially important. The hard-won territories must not be regarded as a place to provide for people who have somehow made themselves unacceptable at home but are still just good enough for the colonies. Doing so spoils any success from the outset. This holds in great matters as in small; for it is not only rising states that pursue colonial policy. Every undertaking on the rise is prone to the urge to expand and to the dangers that go with it.

The finest clothes turn into rags. Be careful all day long.

In times when culture flourishes, there are always shocks now and then that lay bare some inner damage in society and at first cause a general stir. But since the general situation is favorable, such damage can easily be patched up and hidden from the public. Then everything fades from memory again, and it looks as though nothing but peace reigned. A thoughtful person, however, takes such incidents as serious signals and does not neglect them. Only in this way can the bad consequences be averted.

The eastern neighbor, who slaughters an ox, receives less real blessing than the western neighbor with their small offering.

The religious attitude, too, is influenced by the state of mind that prevails in times after completion. In worship, ever richer elaboration and ever greater outward pomp take the place of the simple old forms. But this display of splendor lacks inner earnestness. Human caprice takes the place of conscientious observance of the divine will. But while man looketh on the outward appearance, God looketh on the heart. That is why less blessing rests on imposing but cold worship than on a simple, devout offering.

They get their head into the water. Danger.

Here at the end a warning is added once more. After crossing a stretch of water, one can get one's head into the water only if one carelessly turns back to the water. As long as one strides forward and does not look back, one escapes this danger. But there is something tempting in standing still and looking back at the danger one has overcome. Such vain self-admiration, however, brings no luck. It puts one in danger, and unless one resolves even now to stride on without stopping, one falls victim to this danger.