In love
A clarification is useful: say what is blocking without detour, then look together for a rule that suits each of you.
Hexagram 21
I Ching hexagram 21: Biting Through (Shi ke)
Shi Ke, Biting Through, is the hexagram of the obstacle you cut through: a resistance to deal with frankly, and fairly.
- obstacle
- firmness
- fairness
The essentials
Shi ke at a glance
For you, Shi Ke describes a knot to undo: name what is in the way, apply a clear rule, and decide without excess.
A strength
The frank decision that lifts a blockage, backed by clear rules and applied with discernment.
Something to watch
Applying the rule without nuance: firmness without measure turns a clarification into a test of strength.
- What it advises
- Name the obstacle, apply a clear and proportionate rule, and stay fair in the way you cut through.
- Its opposite
- 48. The Well (Jing)
The situation
Shi Ke describes a jaw biting through what lies in the way. The solid line in the fourth place blocks the mouth: the obstacle is like a foreign body that must be chewed through for the two lips to meet. Success is read in it, and the use of clear rules is judged useful.
The hexagram speaks of what prevents union: a misunderstanding, a fault, a habit. It invites you to deal with it without detour, but also to do so with fairness, in proportion to what is at stake.
The lines grade the degrees: from the small hindrance you lift in passing to the lasting obstruction, when you stubbornly refuse to listen.
The image: Fire above Thunder
- AboveFire: clarity that clings
- BelowThunder: the shock that awakens
Thunder joined with Fire: the crash and the light advance together. According to the commentaries, it is the figure of laws set down sharply and penalties announced clearly.
Consult the I Ching
Throw three coins six times: your hexagram, the lines that change, and the direction they point to.
Free, no account · nothing is sent · no predictions
The six lines
- 1st line (bottom) · solidFeet caught in shackles, toes lost: constraint stops you before the fault grows. Nothing to reproach.
- 2nd line · brokenBiting into tender flesh until the nose sinks in: excessive ease makes you go too far, without fault.
- 3rd line · brokenBiting into dried meat and finding an unpleasant taste: a small regret, but no great fault.
- 4th line · solidBiting into the flesh on the bone and finding metal and arrows: firmness in difficulty is advantageous, and the outcome fortunate.
- 5th line · brokenBiting into dried meat and finding yellow gold: staying upright and aware of danger keeps fault away.
- 6th line (top) · solidWearing a cangue that makes you lose your hearing: the ancient text sees harm in it. Whoever refuses to listen ends up shackled.
Shi ke in your life
At work
A blockage calls for a direct response: set the rules, settle a dispute, deal with what is dragging on.
The I Ching helps you reflect on how to act: it does not say what is coming.
How is it built?
- Character
- 噬嗑 (shì kè)
- Number
- 21 in the King Wen sequence
- Trigrams
- Fire (離) above, Thunder (震) below
- Inner hexagram
- 39. Obstruction (Jian) (lines 2 to 4 and 3 to 5)
- Read upside down
- 22. Grace (Bi)
- Symbol
- ䷔ (U+4DD4)
The English names are the usual renderings of the Chinese characters; the texts rely on the Chinese and on early public-domain translations (Legge, 1882; Philastre, 1885–1893).
Sources
- Wikipedia (English), “List of hexagrams of the I Ching,” read on October 15, 2026: numbers, characters, pinyin, lower and upper trigrams.
- Wikipedia (English), “Bagua,” read on October 15, 2026: lines of the eight trigrams, from bottom to top.
- James Legge (1815–1897), The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XVI, 1882 (Wikisource): public domain.
- Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837–1902), Le Yi King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Annales du Musée Guimet, 1885–1893: public domain (the author died more than 70 years ago).
Frequently asked questions about hexagram 21
What does hexagram 21 of the I Ching mean?
Hexagram 21, Shi Ke, means biting through: lifting an obstacle that separates two things, with frankness, clear rules, and a sense of measure.
What is Shi Ke opposed to?
It is hexagram 48, Jing, the Well. Shi Ke cuts through what blocks; Jing nourishes without moving. The first is an action, the second a resource.