I Ching Oracle Lookup - Hexagram 21: Biting Through

Yin-Yang symbol

Welcome to Hexagram 21, Biting Through. The table below maps every combination of changing lines to its resulting hexagram — 63 transformations plus the unchanging reading. The notation reads from the bottom line upward: 21.1.5 means Hexagram 21 with lines 1 and 5 changing.

䷔
21
 		 ䷔
21.1
35		 ䷔
21.2
38		 ䷔
21.3
30		 ䷔
21.4
27		 ䷔
21.5
25		 ䷔
21.6
51		 ䷔
21.1.2
64
䷔
21.1.3
56		 ䷔
21.1.4
23		 ䷔
21.1.5
12		 ䷔
21.1.6
16		 ䷔
21.2.3
14		 ䷔
21.2.4
41		 ䷔
21.2.5
10		 ䷔
21.2.6
54
䷔
21.3.4
22		 ䷔
21.3.5
13		 ䷔
21.3.6
55		 ䷔
21.4.5
42		 ䷔
21.4.6
24		 ䷔
21.5.6
17		 ䷔
21.1.2.3
50		 ䷔
21.1.2.4
4
䷔
21.1.2.5
6		 ䷔
21.1.2.6
40		 ䷔
21.1.3.4
52		 ䷔
21.1.3.5
33		 ䷔
21.1.3.6
62		 ䷔
21.1.4.5
20		 ䷔
21.1.4.6
2		 ䷔
21.1.5.6
45
䷔
21.2.3.4
26		 ䷔
21.2.3.5
1		 ䷔
21.2.3.6
34		 ䷔
21.2.4.5
61		 ䷔
21.2.4.6
19		 ䷔
21.2.5.6
58		 ䷔
21.3.4.5
37		 ䷔
21.3.4.6
36
䷔
21.3.5.6
49		 ䷔
21.4.5.6
3		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.4
18		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.5
44		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.6
32		 ䷔
21.1.2.4.5
59		 ䷔
21.1.2.4.6
7		 ䷔
21.1.2.5.6
47
䷔
21.1.3.4.5
53		 ䷔
21.1.3.4.6
15		 ䷔
21.1.3.5.6
31		 ䷔
21.1.4.5.6
8		 ䷔
21.2.3.4.5
9		 ䷔
21.2.3.4.6
11		 ䷔
21.2.3.5.6
43		 ䷔
21.2.4.5.6
60
䷔
21.3.4.5.6
63		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.4.5
57		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.4.6
46		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.5.6
28		 ䷔
21.1.2.4.5.6
29		 ䷔
21.1.3.4.5.6
39		 ䷔
21.2.3.4.5.6
5		 ䷔
21.1.2.3.4.5.6
48

About the Transformations of Hexagram 21

Hexagram 21, Biting Through (噬嗑 Shì Kè), combines Thunder below with Fire above. Activation structures the lower trigram, while Fire's differentiated clarity occupies the upper half. Changes at positions 1–3 modify Thunder and the figure's point of initiation; changes at positions 4–6 reshape Fire. Movement on both sides of the midpoint alters the entire relation between activation below and articulated structure above.

The table applies a single transformation rule to every entry: each changing line inverts, after which the recomposed six-line pattern resolves into a second hexagram. Six rows record the single-line outcomes, and fifty-seven record all possible multi-line combinations. The remaining entry represents the unchanging reading, where the figure retains its original lines and the Judgment of Hexagram 21 alone governs.

Changing every line carries Biting Through to Hexagram 48, The Well, its full complement across all six positions. The King Wen sequence instead pairs it with Hexagram 22, Adornment, by inversion. When Hexagram 21 is turned upside down, its line order becomes the pattern of Hexagram 22. Its most extensive change and its sequence partnership therefore lead to different figures through polarity reversal and rotation respectively.

For the full Judgment, Image, and line texts, see Hexagram 21: Biting Through →