Hexagram 42 line 1: Increase, yang in the first place

What changes when line 1 moves

Line 1 of Hexagram 42 is yang, a solid line. When it is cast as old yang (a 9) it flips, and the hexagram becomes Hexagram 20, Contemplation: Looking and being looked at: a moment for seeing the whole clearly before anything is done.

Read together, the reading moves from Increase toward Contemplation. The top gives to the base and everything grows: a time of increase, to be used well and used now. 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. The primary hexagram describes the situation; the changing line is the point of movement in it; the resulting hexagram is where that movement leads. Both hexagrams belong to the reading, and the changing line is the hinge between them.

Hexagram 42 changing to 20 →

Line 1 in context

Love & relationships

You have the backing; attempt the great deed now. In love and relationships, Hexagram 42 reads: 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

You have the backing; attempt the great deed now. In career, Hexagram 42 reads: 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

You have the backing; attempt the great deed now. In money, Hexagram 42 reads: 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.

A decision

You have the backing; attempt the great deed now. In decisions, Hexagram 42 reads: Take the expansive option. The conditions support undertaking something substantial. Decide now; the reading says increase is a moment, and moments pass.