Also known as Biting Through, Gnawing Bite, Reform.
The characters 噬嗑 mean to bite and to bring the jaws together. Hexagram 21 is about an obstacle that keeps things apart, and the firm, clear action needed to bite through it. Often that obstacle is a person, a lie or a broken rule, and the remedy is fair consequences.
The figure
Fire over Thunder. The figure looks like an open mouth: solid lines at the top and bottom are the jaws, and the solid fourth line is something stuck between the teeth. Thunder below brings force, and fire above brings clarity. Together they make action that is both strong and fair.
The judgment
It goes through. Use the courts.
The blockage won't dissolve by itself. Deal with it through proper, open process, not private revenge.
The image
Thunder and lightning at once. Make the penalties clear and the law plain.
Clear rules, known in advance and applied evenly, prevent most of the need for punishment later.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Feet held in the stocks, toes out of sight. Not a mistake. A small correction early keeps a bigger wrong from forming.
- Line 2. Biting through tender meat, so deep the nose disappears. Not a mistake. You went a little hard, but the cause was clear.
- Line 3. Biting into old dried meat and hitting something poisonous. Slight embarrassment, but you're not at fault. An old problem resists, and you lack full authority to fix it.
- Line 4. Biting through dried, gristly meat and finding metal arrowheads. Stay aware of the difficulty and keep at it. It goes well.
- Line 5. Chewing through tough dried meat, you strike yellow metal. Stay steady and watchful; there is risk. Not a mistake. Be fair and solid, like good metal.
- Line 6, at the top. Neck locked in a wooden collar, ears out of sight. It goes badly. Someone who won't hear warnings ends up in serious trouble.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 21 says something is blocking the way, and it needs to be dealt with directly. Be firm, be fair and use the proper channels. Don't let it drag on.