Hexagram 21 for love
Hexagram 21 Biting Together in love and relationships
Shi He is thunder and lightning together, the open mouth with something stuck between the jaws: the picture is of two parties who cannot close on each other because an obstacle lies between them. In a relationship that obstacle is the unspoken thing — the old grievance, the third party, the habit one of you has stopped mentioning. The judgment promises success, but by biting through, not by waiting; the Great Image has the ancient kings 'making penalties clear', and the hexagram asks for the same clarity about what is wrong and what will be done about it.
The lines grade the bite. The first and last are the ones corrected, early and lightly or late and heavily. The middle lines are the biting: easy but deeper than expected (line two), an old matter that stings when touched (line three), the hardest case that must be met straight (line four), and the fair decision made from the centre (line five). The stance is to name the obstacle and deal with it, firmly and fairly, before it hardens further.
The hexagram in brief
Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.
Deal with the obstruction firmly and fairly, with clear penalties and clear rules rather than lingering resentment.
The judgment
噬嗑：亨。利用獄。Shih Ho indicates successful progress (in the condition of things which it supposes). It will be advantageous to use legal constraints.
Which line changed?
A changing line sharpens the answer. Each line of 噬嗑 Biting Together has its own page:
- 初九Nine at the beginningfeet in the stocks · stopped early · no blame
- 六二Six in the second placebiting soft flesh · easy and deep · riding the strong
- 六三Six in the third placeold dried meat · meeting poison · wrong place
- 九四Nine in the fourth placemeat on the bone · metal arrows · hard but right
- 六五Six in the fifth placedried meat · yellow gold · firm amid danger
- 上九Nine at the topthe cangue · deaf to warning · evil
The same hexagram for
Questions
- Is hexagram 21, Biting Together, a good sign for love?
- Shi He is thunder and lightning together, the open mouth with something stuck between the jaws: the picture is of two parties who cannot close on each other because an obstacle lies between them. In a relationship that obstacle is the unspoken thing — the old grievance, the third party, the habit one of you has stopped mentioning. The judgment promises success, but by biting through, not by waiting; the Great Image has the ancient kings 'making penalties clear', and the hexagram asks for the same clarity about what is wrong and what will be done about it.
- What does Hexagram 21, 噬嗑 Biting Together, mean?
- Thunder and lightning: jaws closing on an obstacle. Something is in the way and must be bitten through — favourable for administering justice.
Chinese text: the received Zhouyi (Wuyingdian lineage). English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East XVI, 1882 (public domain).