I Ching · King Wen 42
Hexagram 42: Increase
䷩ 益 Yì · also called Augmenting, Gain, Benefit · The Gentle above The Arousing
The top gives to the base and everything grows: a time of increase, to be used well and used now.
growthgenerosityopportunityundertakingimprovement
The meaning of Hexagram 42
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 image. Wind and thunder; the wise person, seeing good, imitates it, and having faults, corrects them.
- Advice
- Use the season of increase for substantial undertakings, and keep giving as you receive.
- Warning
- Increase hoarded instead of passed on ends with the giver struck by the very people who once helped.
over
Structure: ☳ The Arousing (Thunder) below, ☴ The Gentle (Wind) above. Nuclear hexagram 23, Splitting Apart. Every line reversed: 32, Duration.
Hexagram 42 for love and relationships
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.
Hexagram 42 for career
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.
Hexagram 42 for money
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.
Hexagram 42 for decisions
Take the expansive option. The conditions support undertaking something substantial. Decide now; the reading says increase is a moment, and moments pass.
The six changing lines
Read from the bottom. A changing line flips, and the hexagram it changes into is named with each.
He brings increase to no one. Indeed, someone strikes him. He does not keep his heart constantly steady. Misfortune.
The end of increase: someone who has received and stopped giving, whose inconstancy has lost them every ally, and who is finally attacked. The line is the hexagram's warning made concrete.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning. Read line 6 →
If in truth you have a kind heart, ask not. Supreme good fortune. Kindness will be recognised as your virtue.
Kindness so genuine it does not need to ask how it is received. The line frees the giver from anxiety about the response: real goodness is recognised without being announced.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 27, Nourishment. Read line 5 →
If you walk in the middle and report to the prince, he will follow. It furthers to be used in the removal of the capital.
The intermediary between above and below, trusted by both because of their balance, and used for large changes because of it. Being in the middle is the qualification for being relied on.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 25, Innocence. Read line 4 →
One is enriched through unfortunate events. No blame if you are sincere, walk in the middle, and report with a seal to the prince.
Gain that comes out of misfortune, and the responsibility that goes with it. The line permits it on conditions: sincerity, moderation, and full accountability to whoever is owed it.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 37, The Family. Read line 3 →
Someone increases him; ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant persistence brings good fortune. The king presents him before God. Good fortune.
Unopposable blessing, as in the fifth line of Decrease, for someone who has been faithful and receptive. Openness draws help that no oracle could deny. The line asks only for continued constancy.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 61, Inner Truth. Read line 2 →
It furthers to accomplish great deeds. Supreme good fortune. No blame.
Help from above enables someone at the bottom to attempt something large. The moment to be ambitious, because the support is there. The line is one of the book's strongest encouragements.
Changing, it becomes Hexagram 20, Contemplation. Read line 1 →
Related hexagrams
Cast your own reading
Ask a question and toss six lines. The oracle does not choose the hexagram for you; the coins do.
Ask the I Ching →Common questions
- What does I Ching Hexagram 42 mean?
- 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.
- What does Hexagram 42 mean for love?
- 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.
- Which hexagram does Hexagram 42 change into?
- It depends on which lines change. With one changing line: line 1 gives Hexagram 20, Contemplation; line 2 gives Hexagram 61, Inner Truth; line 3 gives Hexagram 37, The Family; line 4 gives Hexagram 25, Innocence; line 5 gives Hexagram 27, Nourishment; line 6 gives Hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning. With every line changing it becomes Hexagram 32, Duration.