Hexagram 21 · ䷔
Biting Through brings success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
Judgment
Biting Through brings success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
Image
Thunder and lightning united form the image of Biting Through. The kings of old established laws and punishments to maintain order.
Lines
Feet fastened in the stocks, toes disappear. This punishment brings no blame as it corrects deviation. Biting through tender meat causes the nose to disappear. No blame comes from...
Success. It is favorable to use legal proceedings.
Biting Through brings success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
There is something lodged between the jaws, and this is called Biting Through. Biting through and then succeeding means that the firm and yielding are distinguished, movement is joined with clarity, and thunder and lightning unite in brightness. The yielding attains the middle and rises upward; although not in the proper place, it is favorable to use legal proceedings.
Biting Through means there is something blocking the jaws. By biting through it, success becomes possible. Firm and yielding are clearly distinguished, movement is joined with clarity, and thunder with lightning make things manifest. Though the yielding line is not in its proper place, it is still favorable to use legal proceedings.
Thunder and lightning: the image of Biting Through. The ancient kings made punishments clear and laws firm.
Thunder and lightning united form the image of Biting Through. The kings of old established laws and punishments to maintain order.
His feet are fastened in the stocks, so that his toes disappear. No blame.
Feet fastened in the stocks, toes disappear. This punishment brings no blame as it corrects deviation.
Small Image
His feet are fastened in the stocks, so that his toes disappear. He does not walk on the path.
Feet in stocks, toes gone, shows one who does not walk the proper path.
Bites through tender meat, so that his nose disappears. No blame.
Biting through tender meat causes the nose to disappear. No blame comes from this necessary severity.
Small Image
Bites through tender meat, so that his nose disappears. He strikes on the yielding.
Biting tender meat, nose gone, shows necessary severity toward the yielding.
Bites on old dried meat and strikes on something poisonous. Slight humiliation. No blame.
Biting on old dried meat strikes something poisonous. There is slight humiliation, but no blame.
Small Image
Bites on old dried meat and strikes on something poisonous. His position is not appropriate.
Biting old meat strikes poison because the position is not appropriate.
Bites on dried gristly meat. Receives a metal arrow. It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties and to be persevering. Good fortune.
Biting dried gristly meat, one receives a metal arrow. Mindful of difficulties and persevering brings good fortune.
Small Image
It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties and to be persevering. He does not yet shine brightly.
Being mindful of difficulty and persevering means the light is not yet fully manifest.
Bites on dried lean meat. Receives a yellow metal arrow. It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties. No blame.
Biting dried lean meat, one receives a yellow metal arrow. Being mindful of difficulties brings no blame.
Small Image
It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties. No blame. He receives the great mandate.
Being mindful of difficulty brings no blame because one receives what is fittingly entrusted.
His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue, so that his ears disappear. Misfortune.
Neck fastened in the wooden cangue, ears disappear. This extreme punishment brings misfortune.
Small Image
His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue, so that his ears disappear. He does not hear clearly.
Neck in cangue, ears gone, shows one who does not hear clearly or understand.
What does Shih Ho / Biting Through mean in the I Ching?
Biting Through brings success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
How should I study Hexagram 21 on this page?
Start with the judgment and image, then read the line statements in sequence. Feet fastened in the stocks, toes disappear. This punishment brings no blame as it corrects deviation. Biting through tender meat causes the nose to disappear. No blame comes from...
How can this hexagram be applied in a modern reading?
Biting Through means there is something blocking the jaws. By biting through it, success becomes possible. Firm and yielding are clearly distinguished, movement is joined with clarity, and thunder with lightning make thi...
Primary text: Zhouyi / I Ching, including the Judgment, Image, line texts, and related commentaries.
Translation basis: public-domain and modern study references, with AI used only as a learning aid.