Hexagram 42 changing to 20: Increase to Contemplation

Where it starts: 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.

Where it goes: 20 Contemplation

Looking and being looked at: a moment for seeing the whole clearly before anything is done. Earth below, wind above: wind moving across the land, reaching everywhere. The Chinese character means both to observe and to be observed, and the hexagram holds both: a tower from which the whole country can be seen, and a tower that the whole country can see. Contemplation describes a pause for perspective. The tradition's image is of the moment in a ritual after the purification and before the offering, when sincerity is at its highest and nothing has yet been done. The reading asks you to look, honestly, at the whole situation and at yourself, and to understand that you are also being watched.

The lines that move

1. Line 1

   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. You have the backing; attempt the great deed now.

What is changing. The situation of Increase is moving toward Contemplation. Use the season of increase for substantial undertakings, and keep giving as you receive. As the change completes: Take the wide view, examine yourself honestly, and act only once you have seen the whole.

love and relationships

Now: 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. Then: Step back and look at the whole relationship rather than the last argument. See the pattern. The reading also reminds you that how you behave is being observed and forms the other person's view of you.

career

Now: 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. Then: A time for assessment rather than action: survey the whole field, understand the people, and set an example by how you conduct the survey. Others are watching how you look at them.

money

Now: 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. Then: Review before you act. Look at the whole financial picture with honesty, including the parts you have been avoiding. Decisions made from this overview are sounder than any made in the moment.

decisions

Now: Take the expansive option. The conditions support undertaking something substantial. Decide now; the reading says increase is a moment, and moments pass. Then: Do not decide yet; see. Take the widest view available, examine your own motives, and let the decision follow from clarity. The pause is not avoidance; it is the offering before the act.