Hexagram 21: Biting Through (噬嗑) & Tzolkin
Hexagram 21 Biting Through (噬嗑 Shì Kè) in I Ching and Tzolkin: Fire over Thunder, decisively removing obstruction. It maps to kins 81–84 — from birth to the Seed's precise aim.
噬嗑 shì kè · Biting Through
Biting Through (噬嗑, Shì Kè) is the hexagram of decisive action — Fire over Thunder, lightning that exposes what is hidden and thunder that forces movement. The lines form the image of a jaw with a hard obstruction lodged between the teeth: it must be bitten through to restore order. The image speaks of the kings of old, who made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties — justice demands clarity and a firm cut through whatever blocks the way.
In the Argüelles Codon system, hexagram 21 corresponds to kins 81–84 of the Tzolkin calendar — a quartet of signatures at tones 3–6 (Electric through Rhythmic), carrying the seals Dragon, Wind, Night, and Seed. Red Dragon (kin 81, Birth) generates the raw impulse; White Wind (kin 82, Spirit) carries it forward as voice; Blue Night (kin 83, Abundance) deepens it into richness; Yellow Seed (kin 84, Flowering) aims that impulse toward a precise direction of growth — the Seed’s power is targeting, close kin to what Biting Through calls the decisive removal of an obstruction.
Both traditions read this stretch as a call to cut through diffusion and strike the target — not as a proven correspondence, but as a coherent interpretive lens.
The Judgment
Biting Through has success. It is favorable to let justice be administered. Obstacles must be decisively removed — act with clarity and firmness.
The Image
Thunder and lightning: the image of Biting Through. The kings of old made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties.