# Hexagram 21: Biting Through

Canonical page: https://thefreeiching.com/library/21
Last updated: 2026-10-07

```
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━━━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━  ━━━
━━━━━━━
```

- **Upper trigram:** [Li 離](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/li), Fire, the clinging, clarity
- **Lower trigram:** [Zhen 震](https://thefreeiching.com/trigrams/zhen), Thunder, the arousing, movement
- **Lines, bottom to top:** 100101 (1 = solid yang, 0 = broken yin)

## Contemporary judgment

Biting through. An obstacle stands between you and what you rightly seek, and it will not simply dissolve. It must be addressed directly and cut through. Avoid the temptation to rationalize the obstruction away; clarity and firm action are what the moment requires.

## Image

Thunder and lightning meeting. The ancient rulers made the laws clear and the penalties just.

## Counsel

Name the truth of what has been avoided. A single honest, decisive correction accomplishes what months of hedging cannot. Be firm, but not cruel; the purpose is to restore right relationship, not to punish. Do not let resentment pollute what needs to be a clean act.

## The six lines

*Numbered from the bottom upward. These line texts are read when that line is changing in a cast.*

### Line 1

> A nine at the beginning means:
> His feet are fastened in the stocks, so that his toes disappear.
> No blame.

### Line 2

> A six in the second place means:
> Bites through tender meat, so that the nose disappears.
> No blame.

### Line 3

> A six in the third place means:
> Bites on old dried meat and strikes on something poisonous.
> Small humiliation. No blame.

### Line 4

> A nine in the fourth place means:
> Bites on dried gristly meat.
> Receives metal arrows.
> It is favorable to be mindful of difficulties
> and to be persevering.
> Good fortune!

### Line 5

> A six in the fifth place means:
> Bites on dried lean meat.
> Receives yellow gold.
> Persevering, be mindful of danger. No blame.

### Line 6

> A nine at the top means:
> His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue,
> so that his ears disappear.
> Misfortune!

## Related hexagrams

- **Nuclear (lines 2 to 5):** [39 Obstruction](https://thefreeiching.com/library/39)
- **Inverse (turned upside down):** [22 Grace](https://thefreeiching.com/library/22)
- **Opposite (every line flipped):** [48 The Well](https://thefreeiching.com/library/48)

## If one line changes

| Changing line | Relating hexagram |
| --- | --- |
| Line 1 | [35 Progress](https://thefreeiching.com/library/35) |
| Line 2 | [38 Opposition](https://thefreeiching.com/library/38) |
| Line 3 | [30 The Clinging](https://thefreeiching.com/library/30) |
| Line 4 | [27 Nourishment](https://thefreeiching.com/library/27) |
| Line 5 | [25 Innocence](https://thefreeiching.com/library/25) |
| Line 6 | [51 The Arousing](https://thefreeiching.com/library/51) |

Previous: [20 Contemplation](https://thefreeiching.com/library/20). Next: [22 Grace](https://thefreeiching.com/library/22). [All sixty-four hexagrams](https://thefreeiching.com/library).

*The judgment, image and counsel are original contemporary paraphrases written for The Free I Ching. The line text is the CC0 translation from [jesshewitt/i-ching](https://github.com/jesshewitt/i-ching), derived from Richard Wilhelm's 1924 German edition.*

## Cite this page

The Free I Ching. "Hexagram 21: Biting Through." https://thefreeiching.com/library/21 (updated 2026-10-07).

*The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice. Short quotations with a link back are welcome. Please do not republish a page in full. The open data files at [/data](https://thefreeiching.com/data) are licensed CC BY 4.0.*

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Source: The Free I Ching (https://thefreeiching.com/library/21). The I Ching is a tool for reflection, not a prediction. Nothing here forecasts events or replaces professional advice.