Hexagram 63After the Accomplishment
Upper : Water (Kan) - ☵Lower : Fire (Li) - ☲
"After the accomplishment. Success in small matters. Perseverance is advantageous. At the beginning, fortune; at the end, disorder."
Water above Fire. The fire boils the water, the elements cooperate, perfection is attained: each Yang line is in an odd position, each Yin in an even position. The cosmic order is perfect. But beware! Once perfection is reached, the only possible movement is degradation (the end of disorder). This is the peril of success: one relaxes, lowers one's guard, and chaos returns. Extreme vigilance is required to preserve the balance.
"Water above fire: the image of the state following accomplishment. Thus the noble man contemplates misfortune and prepares against it in advance."
Peace is not eternal. It is at the moment of greatest security that one must prepare the defenses for the next crisis.
The Apotheosis of Individuation, the realization of the perfect Mandala. The Ego has overcome the crisis and found a profound equilibrium with the Unconscious. You have reached your goal. However, the psyche does not tolerate stasis (the cessation of life). Jung warns: perfection is sterile. Do not rest on your spiritual laurels. The cycle of life will soon demand a new death and a new birth.
Minimal Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. The system has reached a state of perfect order and maximal free energy. But the fundamental law of the universe stipulates that the entropy (disorder) of an isolated system can only increase. Thus, this perfect order is fundamentally unstable: the slightest fluctuation (the passage of time) will introduce chaos (thermal dissipation).