Hexagram 25 changing to 42: Innocence to Increase

Where it starts: 25 Innocence

Acting without calculation: doing what is right because it is right, and accepting what comes. Thunder below, heaven above: movement in accord with heaven. Innocence describes action that springs from an honest nature rather than from scheming, and the tradition ties it to the unexpected: what comes to the person who acts without ulterior motive cannot be planned and is not always pleasant. The judgement promises great success with persistence, and warns that anyone not as they should be will meet misfortune. The reading asks for sincerity without agenda. It also says, in the lines, that undeserved misfortune can happen to the innocent, and that the right response is not to lose one's innocence over it.

Where it goes: 42 Increase

The top gives to the base and everything grows: a time of increase, to be used well and used now. Thunder below, wind above: the two reinforcing each other, wind spreading the thunder's force. Increase is the mirror of Decrease: what is above gives to what is below, and the whole flourishes. The tradition's judgement is expansive: it furthers to undertake something, it furthers to cross the great water. The image describes the inner counterpart: seeing good, imitate it; seeing faults, correct them. The reading says the time is one of growth and generosity from above, that it favours large undertakings, and that it will not last; the lines warn at the end of increase that no one helps a person who has stopped giving.

The lines that move

1. Line 4

   One who can be persistent remains without blame.

   Holding to your own integrity when circumstances push against it. The line does not promise gain, only blamelessness, which in a time of the unexpected is a great deal. Hold your ground and your principles; that is enough here.

What is changing. The situation of Innocence is moving toward Increase. Act from honest motives without calculation, and take what comes without losing your integrity. As the change completes: Use the season of increase for substantial undertakings, and keep giving as you receive.

love and relationships

Now: Act from what you honestly feel, without strategy. The reading favours the natural gesture and warns against managing the other person. Unexpected events, good and bad, come to those who are sincere; take them as they are. Then: A time of growth and giving. Invest in the relationship generously; the conditions favour it and the giving comes back. The reading warns that increase is a season, and that taking without giving, at the end, leaves you alone.

career

Now: Do the work honestly, without positioning. The reading supports straightforward action and is suspicious of clever plans. If something undeserved happens, do not let it make you cynical; that would be the real loss. Then: Expansion. The reading supports the ambitious project and the big crossing. Use the help coming from above, give it forward, and improve what can be improved while the wind is behind you.

money

Now: Do not scheme. Honest dealing, straightforward work and acceptance of what comes. The reading warns against calculated moves and against reacting to a setback by abandoning your principles. Then: Growth, and the moment to act on it: invest, undertake, build. Use the increase for lasting good rather than display. The reading is favourable and time-limited; use it while it lasts.

decisions

Now: Choose the option you would choose if no one were watching and nothing could be gained. If a decision requires cunning to work, the reading says it will not. Then: Take the expansive option. The conditions support undertaking something substantial. Decide now; the reading says increase is a moment, and moments pass.