I Ching Hexagram 42: Increase - Meaning, Changing Lines and Guidance

Hexagram 42 of the I Ching is Yi, Increase: the wind trigram Sun above the thunder trigram Zhen, a season when what sits above is reduced so what sits below can grow. Its Judgement backs action and crossing the great water, and its six changing lines run from borrowed strength at the base to the man at the top who gives nothing and gets struck for it.

What does I Ching Hexagram 42, Increase, mean?

I Ching Hexagram 42 is Yi, Increase, and it describes a deliberate transfer of resource downward rather than a windfall that arrives from nowhere. The hexagram is built from a yang line at the bottom, three yin lines above it, then two yang lines at the top, giving Sun, the wind, over Zhen, the thunder. The traditional derivation makes the meaning concrete: take Hexagram 12, Standstill, where heaven sits sealed above earth, and move the lowest line of the upper trigram down into the bottom place. What was strength held at the top becomes strength planted at the bottom, and the result is Hexagram 42. The commentary on the Judgement states this as a formula, reducing the upper and increasing the lower, with the note that the joy of the people is then without limit. Hexagram 42 meaning therefore has a direction built into it. Something at the top of your situation has agreed to be less so that something at the base can be more: a grant, a delegation of authority, a parent releasing capital early, a manager giving away headcount. The favor is real and the source is not anonymous.

The structure of Hexagram 42 is unusually well knit. Every pair of positions is in correspondence: the yang at the first place answers the yin at the fourth, the yin at the second answers the yang at the fifth, and the yin at the third answers the yang at the top. Six lines, three complete correspondences, no dead connection anywhere in the figure. Four of the six also occupy correct positions by parity, yang in odd places and yin in even. The two exceptions are the yin in the third place and the yang at the top, and those are exactly the two lines whose texts turn awkward, one enriched through disaster and one struck for giving nothing. The figure predicts its own trouble spots. This is why readers treat Hexagram 42 as a hexagram of working relationships rather than of solitary luck. Nothing in it happens to one person alone. The increase arrives through a channel, passes through intermediaries, and can be blocked by anyone in the chain who decides to keep it.

What is the Chinese name of Hexagram 42 in the I Ching?

Hexagram 42 is Yi, written with the character meaning to increase, benefit or profit. Richard Wilhelm renders it Increase, James Legge renders it Addition, and later translators use Augmenting or Gain. Practitioners often name both at once, as the Yi hexagram Increase.

What is the line structure of Hexagram 42, Increase?

Hexagram 42 reads from the bottom up as one yang line, three yin lines, then two yang lines. The single yang at the base and the pair of yang lines at the top enclose an open yin middle, which is the space the increase moves through.

Where does Hexagram 42, Increase, sit in the King Wen sequence?

Hexagram 42 sits directly after Hexagram 41, Decrease, and before Hexagram 43, Breakthrough. The Sequence commentary explains it plainly: decrease that runs on must turn into increase, and increase that runs on must force a breakthrough.

Which trigrams form Hexagram 42, and why do wind and thunder together mean Increase?

Hexagram 42, Increase, is formed by Sun, the wind or wood trigram, in the upper position, with Zhen, the thunder trigram, below. Wind over thunder produces Increase because these two forces amplify one another instead of interfering. Thunder is the shock that starts movement, the sudden yang line breaking upward from beneath. Wind is penetration, the force that spreads and keeps spreading, entering everywhere without resistance. A shock alone is a single event that dissipates, and a spreading pressure alone has nothing to carry. Put the shock underneath and the spreading above and you get an impulse that is immediately distributed, which is what growth looks like from the outside. Both trigrams also belong to the same part of the year in traditional correlations, Zhen with early spring in the east and Sun with the turn into late spring in the southeast, so the pairing carries an unmistakable growing season image. The old commentary says the two strengthen each other, and that when they observe one another they gain. Nothing in the wind over thunder hexagram is static.

The family reading of the two trigrams adds a second layer to Hexagram 42. Zhen is the eldest son and Sun is the eldest daughter, so the hexagram places the senior daughter above the senior son, the two children who carry the household while the parents are elsewhere. This is not the ruler and subject arrangement of the heaven and earth hexagrams. It is the working generation covering for each other, which fits a hexagram about resource passed sideways and downward inside an organization rather than handed down as decree. Sun carries a second association that the Judgement leans on directly: wood. Wood is the material of boats, and the traditional commentary on Hexagram 42 justifies its endorsement of crossing the great water by saying the way of wood is then in action. So the upper trigram supplies both the spreading of the benefit and the vessel that carries the questioner across, while Zhen underneath supplies the departure.

What is the upper trigram of Hexagram 42, Increase?

The upper trigram of Hexagram 42 is Sun, one yin line beneath two yang lines, carrying wind, wood, penetration and the eldest daughter. Sun spreads the increase outward and supplies the wood image behind the endorsement of crossing the great water.

What is the lower trigram of Hexagram 42, Increase?

The lower trigram of Hexagram 42 is Zhen, one yang line beneath two yin lines, carrying thunder, arousing movement, spring and the eldest son. Its yang line at the base is the one the traditional derivation says descended from above.

Which other hexagram uses the same two trigrams as Hexagram 42?

Hexagram 32, Duration, uses the same two trigrams stacked the other way, Zhen the thunder above and Sun the wind below. Reversing the order turns a short season of growth into a lasting arrangement.

What is the Judgement of Hexagram 42, Increase, and how is it read?

The Judgement of Hexagram 42, Increase, is short and unusually permissive: it furthers one to undertake something, and it furthers one to cross the great water. Two endorsements in a single line is rare in the I Ching, and readers treat the doubling as emphasis rather than repetition. The first clause covers ordinary undertakings, the projects you would start anyway. The second covers the irreversible crossing, the move you have been deferring because you cannot get back once you commit. Hexagram 42 backs both. The commentary on the Judgement explains why, in terms of the transfer that built the figure. Reducing what is above and increasing what is below is said to make the joy of the people boundless, and descending from a high place to a low one is said to make the way greatly bright. The endorsement is not a forecast of easy conditions. It is an argument that during a period when resource is flowing downward toward you, the cost of a large commitment is temporarily lower than it will be again. I Ching increase is a window, and the Judgement is telling you to spend it.

Two things in the Judgement of Hexagram 42 quietly limit it. The first is that the increase comes from above and moves down, which means it is not yours by production. Someone upstream is short by the amount you are up. The second is timing: the classical commentary says the movement of this hexagram matches the season, and a season is by definition temporary. Readers who take Hexagram 42 as a promise of permanent expansion tend to end up reading the top line about themselves. The practical instruction that falls out of the Judgement is to convert rather than accumulate. Money becomes equipment, goodwill becomes a signed arrangement, a mentor's attention becomes a finished piece of work with your name on it. The undertaking is what makes the increase permanent, because the undertaking survives the season and the surplus does not. That is also why the crossing clause sits in the Judgement at all.

Does Hexagram 42, Increase, favor starting a new venture?

Yes. The Judgement of Hexagram 42 opens by saying it furthers one to undertake something, which readers take as direct support for launching. The qualification is that the venture should be sized to the increase actually available.

Who is the increase in Hexagram 42 coming from?

In Hexagram 42, Increase, the resource comes from above the questioner's position, since the figure is derived by moving a strong line from the upper trigram down to the bottom place. In readings that is a superior, an institution or an inheritance.

How long does the period described by Hexagram 42, Increase, last?

Hexagram 42 describes a bounded season, not a settled state. Traditional commentary ties it to a time that moves with the season, and the King Wen sequence sends it straight into Hexagram 43, Breakthrough, where accumulated increase forces a decisive break.

What is the Image of Hexagram 42, Increase, and what does it ask you to do?

The Image of Hexagram 42, Increase, reads: wind and thunder, the image of Increase; thus the superior person, seeing good, imitates it, and having faults, gets rid of them. Where the Judgement handles opportunity, the Image handles character, and it prescribes a two-part daily discipline that is more demanding than it first sounds. Imitating good on sight means dropping the reflex that treats another person's competence as a threat to be explained away. Getting rid of faults on sight means acting the moment a flaw is visible rather than filing it for later improvement. Both halves borrow their speed from the trigrams. Thunder is instantaneous and wind reaches everywhere, so the Image asks for correction that is immediate and total instead of gradual and partial. This is the most quoted line attached to Hexagram 42 and the reason the hexagram is used in self-cultivation as much as in questions about resources. The logic connecting it to Increase is direct: a person who copies every good thing they see and discards every fault they notice is compounding, which is what Yi describes.

The Image also explains why Hexagram 42 so often turns up for people who are already doing well. Increase in this hexagram is not only material. The fastest form of increase available to anyone is the free adoption of what already works elsewhere, and the fastest form of loss is holding on to a known fault out of habit or pride. Practitioners often work the Image of Hexagram 42 as a pair of questions asked at the end of a day: what did I see done better than I do it, and what did I notice about myself and decline to fix. Answering the first honestly is uncomfortable because it means admitting a peer is ahead. Answering the second is uncomfortable because the fault is usually already known and already excused. Hexagram 42 treats both discomforts as the price of the increase it is offering.

What does imitating good mean in the Image of Hexagram 42?

In the Image of Hexagram 42, Increase, imitating good means adopting a better practice the moment you observe it, without waiting for permission or credit. The hexagram treats visible competence in others as free resource.

Why does the Image of Hexagram 42 pair imitation with removing faults?

The Image of Hexagram 42 pairs the two because increase in this hexagram is net rather than gross. Adding good practices while keeping known faults leaves the balance flat, so Increase requires the intake and the discard to run at the same speed.

How is the Image of Hexagram 42 used in practice?

Readers commonly use the Image of Hexagram 42 as a nightly two-question review, naming one thing seen done better than they do it and one fault they noticed and avoided fixing. The hexagram's claim is that running this consistently is itself the increase.

What do the first three changing lines of Hexagram 42, Increase, mean?

The first three hexagram 42 changing lines cover the arrival of increase, its confirmation, and its awkward form. The nine at the beginning says it furthers one to accomplish great deeds, with supreme good fortune and no blame. This is the yang line that descended from above, so it is the gift itself, and its instruction is scale. Support this large spent on something small is wasted, and the no blame is conditional on using it fully. Changing this line gives Hexagram 20, Contemplation, where the backing becomes something people watch. The six in the second says someone does indeed increase him, that ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it, that constant perseverance brings good fortune, and that the king presents him before God. Tortoise shells were both oracle instruments and units of value, so ten pairs is a valuation no further divination can argue against. This line changes to Hexagram 61, Inner Truth. The six in the third says one is enriched through unfortunate events, with no blame if you are sincere, keep to the middle and report to the prince with a seal. It changes to Hexagram 37, The Family.

The three lines form a descending ladder of comfort. The first line is clean increase and its only risk is timidity. The second line is increase so well attested that hesitation becomes the error, which is why its text insists on constancy rather than caution; the same ten pairs of tortoises appear at the fifth line of Hexagram 41, Decrease, spoken from the giver's side. The third line is where Hexagram 42 gets uncomfortable. Being enriched through unfortunate events covers insurance settlements, a promotion opened by a colleague's illness, a contract won because a competitor collapsed, an inheritance. The line does not forbid taking it. It says the taking must be visible, sincere and formally authorized, which is what reporting to the prince with a seal means in practice. The third line is also the first of the two structurally incorrect lines in Hexagram 42, a yin line in a yang place and off center, so the discomfort in the text matches the discomfort in the position.

What does the first line of Hexagram 42, Increase, advise?

The first line of Hexagram 42 advises accomplishing great deeds, promising supreme good fortune and no blame. As the yang line that descended from above it is borrowed strength at the base, and spending large backing on a small aim wastes it.

What do ten pairs of tortoises mean in Hexagram 42, Increase?

In the second line of Hexagram 42, ten pairs of tortoises mark a valuation so high that no further oracle can contradict it. Tortoise shells served as both divination tools and stores of value, so the increase should be accepted rather than retested.

What does the third line of Hexagram 42 mean by enrichment through unfortunate events?

The third line of Hexagram 42, Increase, describes gain arriving through misfortune elsewhere, such as a settlement or an opening created by someone's collapse. It withholds blame only if the gain is handled sincerely and formally authorized rather than quietly pocketed.

What do the last three changing lines of Hexagram 42, Increase, mean?

The last three hexagram 42 changing lines cover the intermediary, the source and the failure. The six in the fourth says that if you keep to the middle and report to the prince, he will follow, and that it furthers one to be used in the removal of the capital. This is the trusted go-between, a yin line correctly placed beside the ruler and answering the first line below. Moving a capital was the largest civil undertaking a state could attempt, so the line describes someone entrusted with a structural relocation rather than a routine task. It changes to Hexagram 25, Innocence. The nine in the fifth is the ruling line: if you truly have a kind heart, do not ask, supreme good fortune, and your kindness will be recognized as your character. This is the source of the increase, giving without auditing the result, and it changes to Hexagram 27, Nourishment. The nine at the top says he brings increase to no one, someone strikes at him, his heart is not kept steady, misfortune. It changes to Hexagram 3, Difficulty at the Beginning.

The fifth line is where the ethic of Hexagram 42 is stated most directly. Do not ask means do not check whether the gift landed and do not turn a benefit into a debt by asking after it. The reward clause is the interesting part, since the line promises the kindness will be recognized precisely because it was not announced. Between the fifth line and the second, Hexagram 42 holds an unforced giver and a receiver who does not have to bargain, the healthiest relationship in the figure. The top line is its inversion. A yang line in an even place, stranded above the ruler at the end of the season, it takes without passing anything on, and the text records that someone strikes at him. The commentary attached to this line reads as a repair sequence: settle yourself before you move, compose your thoughts before you speak, and set the terms of a relationship before you ask anything of it. A person who asks with nothing to give, it adds, gets no answer.

What does removing the capital mean in the fourth line of Hexagram 42?

In the fourth line of Hexagram 42, Increase, removing the capital means relocating a state's seat of government, the largest structural change a ruler could order. The line marks someone trusted with that scale of work, provided they keep to the middle and report openly.

Why does the fifth line of Hexagram 42 say do not ask?

The fifth line of Hexagram 42, Increase, says do not ask because checking on a gift converts it into a debt. As the ruling line it promises supreme good fortune to giving that never requires acknowledgment, and says the kindness gets recognized anyway.

Why is the top line of Hexagram 42, Increase, unfortunate?

The top line of Hexagram 42 is unfortunate because it takes at the end of a season of increase and passes nothing down. It is a yang line in an even place, structurally incorrect and above the ruling line, and its text records that someone strikes at him for it.

What are the nuclear, inverse and opposite hexagrams of Hexagram 42, Increase?

The nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 42, Increase, is Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart. Taking lines two through four gives Kun, earth, and lines three through five give Gen, mountain, so the hidden core of Increase is a mountain wearing away above earth. That is the single most useful piece of structural information about Hexagram 42: at the center of a time of plenty sits erosion, because the increase is being drawn from a source that is losing what you gain. The inverse hexagram, produced by turning Hexagram 42 upside down, is Hexagram 41, Decrease, its partner in the King Wen sequence and the same transaction seen from the paying side. The opposite hexagram, produced by changing all six lines, is Hexagram 32, Duration, which is the same two trigrams stacked the other way with thunder above and wind below. The contrast is exact. Hexagram 42 is a fast, generous, temporary season, and its opposite is a slow arrangement that holds. Anyone taking the Hexagram 42 Increase forecast as a permanent condition is reading Hexagram 32 by mistake.

These relationships give practical instructions. Because the nuclear figure is Splitting Apart, Hexagram 42 asks you to identify who is being decreased while you increase, since that budget or reserve or person will not sustain the flow indefinitely. Because the inverse is Hexagram 41, Decrease, any reading of Hexagram 42 can be flipped to check how the other party experiences it, and the two even share a line text about ten pairs of tortoises. Because the opposite is Hexagram 32, Duration, the correct exit from Hexagram 42 is to convert a season of surplus into a structure that no longer needs surplus. The Sequence commentary supplies the last piece by placing Hexagram 43, Breakthrough, immediately after: increase that continues without limit forces a decisive rupture, since something that keeps swelling has to burst its container.

What is the nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 42, Increase?

The nuclear hexagram of Hexagram 42 is Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart, formed from Gen the mountain over Kun the earth. It warns that the source feeding the increase is being depleted, which is why Hexagram 42 reads as a bounded season.

What is the opposite hexagram of Hexagram 42, Increase?

The opposite of Hexagram 42, produced by changing every line, is Hexagram 32, Duration, thunder above wind. Duration is the same pair of trigrams reordered into permanence, so it marks the contrast between a temporary surge of increase and an arrangement built to last.

Which hexagram follows Hexagram 42, Increase, in the King Wen sequence?

Hexagram 43, Breakthrough, follows Hexagram 42 in the King Wen sequence. The Sequence commentary explains that increase continuing without limit must end in a decisive break, so unchecked expansion heads toward rupture rather than a plateau.

What does Hexagram 42, Increase, mean for a decision?

For a decision, Hexagram 42, Increase, is a yes with a size requirement and a deadline. The Judgement backs both ordinary undertakings and the irreversible crossing, so the hexagram is not asking whether to act but how large to act and how soon. The first line sets the scale by pushing toward great deeds, which in a decision reading means the bolder of the two options usually carries the good fortune, because backing this strong applied to a cautious choice is the waste the line warns about. The nuclear hexagram sets the deadline, since Splitting Apart at the core says the favorable conditions are being funded by depletion somewhere and will not stay available. The practical shape of a Hexagram 42 answer is therefore: commit now, commit big, and commit to something that outlasts current conditions. Readers check one further thing before finalizing. Because the increase comes from above, a decision made under Hexagram 42 usually depends on somebody's continuing goodwill, and confirming that support is real turns the hexagram's optimism into something you can build on.

Hexagram 42 also tells you which decisions it does not favor. It does not favor hedging or waiting for better information, since the second line says the case is already settled beyond what further divination could add. It does not favor pocketing a gain quietly, since the third line makes the concealment rather than the gain the source of blame. It does not favor taking a final round after you have stopped contributing, which is the whole content of the top line. Set against those, the choices Hexagram 42 supports are recognizable: signing rather than negotiating further, moving rather than staying, spending a windfall on capacity rather than comfort, and taking on the structural job nobody wants, because the fourth line's relocation of a capital is exactly that job. Which line moved narrows this considerably. A moving first line and a moving fifth line point in different directions, one toward receiving boldly and one toward giving without conditions.

Should you act quickly when Hexagram 42, Increase, appears?

Yes. Hexagram 42, Increase, describes a season funded from above rather than a permanent state, and its nuclear hexagram 23, Splitting Apart, says the source is thinning. The surplus fades and the undertaking remains.

Does Hexagram 42, Increase, favor a bold option over a safe one?

Hexagram 42 generally favors the bolder option. Its first line calls for great deeds and its Judgement endorses crossing the great water, an image of a commitment you cannot reverse midway, so a cautious choice tends to underuse the support the hexagram describes.

What should you check before acting on Hexagram 42, Increase?

Check who is supplying the increase. Hexagram 42 is built by moving a strong line down from the upper trigram, so the favorable conditions rest on a backer choosing to give ground, and confirming that support is genuine matters more than the forecast.

What does Hexagram 42, Increase, mean for a relationship and for work?

For a relationship, Hexagram 42, Increase, describes one person giving more than the ledger requires and the relationship growing because of it. The model is the pairing of the fifth line with the second: a giver who does not ask whether the gift landed, and a receiver who does not have to negotiate for it. In a partnership question this usually indicates real generosity rather than transaction, often with one side currently better placed and quietly carrying more. Hexagram 42 treats that imbalance as healthy while it is voluntary and openly acknowledged. The failure mode is named at the top line, where someone keeps receiving and stops contributing, and the text is blunt that this ends badly. For a new relationship the hexagram is favorable, particularly where one party is opening doors for the other. For an established one it asks which way the increase currently runs, and whether the person supplying it has been thanked in a form they would recognize.

For work, Hexagram 42, Increase, points to backing arriving from above, and it is one of the better hexagrams to draw on questions about promotion, funding or sponsorship. The second line covers the offer where continued comparison shopping becomes the mistake. The fourth line covers the person who carries a proposal upward and gets it approved, and its removal of the capital image marks a large structural project rather than routine work, so drawing this line often means being handed the reorganization, the migration or the office move. The fifth line describes the manager who gives resource and authority away without auditing gratitude, which the hexagram names as the source of increase for a whole team. The top line is the colleague or executive who has stopped passing anything down and is about to find out what that costs. Across all of these, Hexagram 42 says what it says everywhere else: the favorable period is real, it is funded by somebody, and it should be converted into something that stands on its own.

Is Hexagram 42, Increase, a good sign for a new relationship?

Hexagram 42 is a favorable sign for a new relationship, especially where one person is actively opening doors for the other. Its ideal pairing is the fifth line giving without asking and the second receiving without bargaining.

What does Hexagram 42, Increase, mean for a promotion or a raise?

Hexagram 42 reads well for promotion and funding questions because it describes resource moving down from above. The second line marks an offer solid enough that further comparison is wasted effort, and the fourth line marks the advocate who carries your case upward successfully.

What is the warning in Hexagram 42, Increase, for an established relationship?

The warning sits at the top line of Hexagram 42, where someone brings increase to no one and is struck for it. In an established relationship that is a partner who has become a permanent recipient, and the resentment is treated as earned.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hexagram 42, Increase, a good sign in the I Ching?

Hexagram 42, Increase, is one of the more openly favorable answers in the I Ching. Its Judgement gives two endorsements in a row, backing undertakings and backing the crossing of the great water, and five of its six lines carry good fortune or a conditional absence of blame. The reservations are specific: the nuclear hexagram 23, Splitting Apart, says the supply is drawn from somewhere and will not last, and the top line is the single outright misfortune. Read Hexagram 42 as a strong yes with an expiry date.

What is the difference between Hexagram 42, Increase, and Hexagram 41, Decrease?

Hexagram 42, Increase, and Hexagram 41, Decrease, are the same transfer viewed from opposite ends. Turn Hexagram 42 upside down and you get Hexagram 41, which is why the King Wen sequence files them as a pair. Hexagram 41 is Mountain above Lake, the lower giving something up so the upper can be furnished; Hexagram 42 is Wind above Thunder, the upper giving something up so the lower can grow. They even share a line text, the ten pairs of tortoises appearing at the fifth line of 41 and the second line of 42.

What does Hexagram 42, Increase, mean with no changing lines?

Hexagram 42, Increase, with no changing lines is read entirely from the Judgement and the Image, and it describes a standing condition rather than a turning point. Conditions currently favor the questioner, the favor comes from a source above the situation rather than from the questioner's own effort, and the correct response is to spend it on something structural. The Image supplies the discipline: copy what you see done well, drop your own faults on sight. A static Hexagram 42 says the luck is already in the room and asks what you built with it.

Which line rules Hexagram 42, Increase?

The ruling line of Hexagram 42, Increase, is the nine in the fifth place, a yang line both central in its trigram and correct for an odd position. Its text describes a kind heart that does not ask, followed by supreme good fortune and the note that the kindness gets recognized without being advertised. This line supplies the increase the rest of the hexagram distributes, and it corresponds with the yin line in the second place, the main receiver. That pairing is the spine of the reading: an unforced giver and a receiver who does not have to bargain.

What does crossing the great water mean in Hexagram 42, Increase?

In Hexagram 42, Increase, crossing the great water means committing to an undertaking you cannot reverse partway. The traditional commentary ties the phrase to the hexagram's structure, saying the way of wood is then in action, because the upper trigram Sun carries wood as well as wind and wood is what a boat is made of. The image is practical rather than decorative: Hexagram 42 hands you a vessel, and a vessel is only useful launched. A period of increase is when a risky crossing costs least.

What does Hexagram 42, Increase, say about money?

Hexagram 42, Increase, reads money as inflow from an identifiable source that should be converted rather than held. The first line pushes for great deeds, meaning one large commitment instead of a slow drip of small comforts. The second line describes a valuation so decisive that second-guessing is pointless, covering an offer or windfall that does not need shopping around. The third line handles money arriving through someone else's misfortune and asks for open authorization. Underneath sits the nuclear hexagram 23, Splitting Apart, warning that the source is thinning while you receive.

What does the top line of Hexagram 42, Increase, warn about?

The top line of Hexagram 42, Increase, warns about a person who has reached the end of a favorable period and keeps taking. Its text says he brings increase to no one, someone strikes at him, his heart is not kept steady, and it ends in misfortune, the only outright bad verdict in Hexagram 42. Structurally it is a yang line in an even place, incorrect and stranded above the ruling fifth line. The commentary prescribes the cure: settle yourself before moving, compose your thoughts before speaking, set the terms of a relationship before asking anything of it.