I Ching Oracle / Hexagrams / 21
The Judgement
Success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
An obstruction that must be bitten through decisively.
The Image
Thunder and lightning; the kings of old firmly defined the penalties and promulgated the laws.
This hexagram on ten matters
- WorkCAREER
- The obstruction must be bitten through. Let justice be administered — say plainly what the rule is; vagueness only lets the problem grow.
- LoveRELATIONSHIP
- Something needs to be laid out openly. Biting through tender meat so the nose disappears: it is acceptable to go far enough to be uncomfortable. Vagueness is what harms.
- MoneyFINANCE
- Accounts or contracts to be cleared. Striking something poisonous — unpleasant, but necessary.
- HealthBODY
- This hexagram is about biting through. Restraint in food and drink maps onto it directly: what you mean to give up, actually give up.
- StudyLEARNING
- Break through the concept you are stuck on. Go around it and it will block every subsequent step.
- An examEXAM
- This hexagram is about clearly defined penalties. Learn exactly how marks are awarded and deducted — knowing the marking scheme beats writing an extra page.
- PeopleSOCIAL
- A conflict that needs facing directly. Defining the penalty clearly works better than private complaint.
- A choiceDECISION
- Be decisive. His ears disappear in the cangue is the price of leaving it until last.
- TravelJOURNEY
- Feasible, but settle possible disputes before you set out.
- A lost itemLOST ITEM
- Stuck in a gap or a hidden layer. You will need to open or take something apart to reach it.
The Six Lines
His feet are fastened in the stocks, so that his toes disappear. No blame.
His feet in the stocks, his toes disappear; no blame. A small punishment, a large warning. The best position in the hexagram: the error is still small and still affordable.
Bites through tender meat, so that his nose disappears. No blame.
Bites through tender meat, his nose disappears; no blame. Bitten too hard, but harmless, because what he bit was soft.
Bites on old dried meat and strikes on something poisonous. Slight humiliation. No blame.
Bites on old dried meat and strikes something poisonous. Hard going and contaminated. Unpleasant, but not your fault.
Bites on dried gristly meat. Receives metal arrows. It furthers one to be mindful of difficulties.
Bites on dried gristly meat; receives metal arrows. Something valuable inside the hard part. The line concedes the difficulty and the worth.
Bites on dried lean meat. Receives yellow gold. Perseveringly aware of danger. No blame.
Bites on dried lean meat; receives yellow gold. Apparent ease still requires vigilance. The gain here is conditional.
His neck is fastened in the wooden cangue, so that his ears disappear. Misfortune.
His neck in the cangue, his ears disappear. Left until last. The only misfortune in the hexagram: small wrongs accumulated, warnings ignored.
The governing line
Nuclear · Opposite · Reverse
The nuclear hexagram shows the middle stretch of the matter; the opposite is the same situation seen from the reverse position; the reverse is the view from the other party's side.