I Ching Hexagram 42: Increase

Hexagram 42, Increase (Yì, 益), is the I Ching's picture of benefit that flows and multiplies: wind and thunder strengthening each other. If you drew it, the reading is a very favorable one, and it's about growth that comes from giving.

Quick meaning: Hexagram 42, Increase (Yì), means benefit that flows and multiplies: giving from above to below, with growth for both sides. It advises going for the venture, giving sincerely, learning from what's good, correcting your faults, and not only taking.

What hexagram 42 looks like

The old text turns the image into a rule: seeing good, the person of character moves toward it, and having faults, corrects them. Increase starts with a willingness to change.

What hexagram 42 means

Increase describes a time when benefit flows: support arrives, and what is given returns multiplied. The Judgment is favorable: favorable to undertake things, and favorable to cross the great river. The traditional commentary describes the flow as going from above to below, the top giving up something so that the base grows, and calls that way greatly bright. It adds that movement and gentleness together advance without limit.

The lines follow what to do with an increase. The first uses it for a great work, with supreme fortune. On the usual reading, the second receives a precious gift that arrives unforced. The third puts the gain to use in a grim matter, with no fault. The fourth presents a plan that benefits everyone, and is followed. The fifth gives sincerely without asking, with supreme fortune. The sixth has no one adding to him, with opposition and an unsteady heart, and the text calls it misfortune.

What hexagram 42 advises you to do

Go for the venture, and bring others along. The Judgment is favorable to undertake things and to cross the great river, and the first line uses the gain for a great work, with supreme fortune. A big move is favored when its benefit is shared.

Give sincerely, and don't keep score. On the usual reading, the fifth line is a generous heart that doesn't ask what it will get back, with supreme fortune. The fourth is a plan that benefits both sides, and it's followed.

Learn from what's good, and correct your faults. The image is moving toward the good and correcting what's wrong. On the usual reading, the sixth line is the opposite: someone who only takes, helped by no one, with an unsteady heart.

Hexagram 42 in love, career, and decisions

In love. Increase often appears when a bond is giving each side something: support, growth, generosity. Its counsel is to give sincerely without keeping score (the fifth line), to accept what's freely offered (the second), and to correct faults when you see them (the image). The flow is meant to be mutual: the fourth line is a plan that benefits both sides, and the sixth is the caution against only taking. It isn't a call for sacrifice, and it doesn't ask you to keep giving to someone who isn't giving back. It doesn't predict how the other person will respond, and it doesn't say whether to stay or go.

In career. A very favorable hexagram for growth and for big ventures: a launch, an investment, a generous team culture. The Judgment is favorable to cross the great river, the third line puts a gain to use when times are hard, and the fourth is a plan that benefits everyone and is followed. The sixth is the caution against taking without giving.

For a decision. If you asked "should I go for it?", Increase leans yes, and bring others along. It's a good sign for a venture whose benefit is shared, and a caution against one that only takes.

Is hexagram 42 good or bad?

The short version: hexagram 42 is very favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is favorable to undertake things and to cross the great river, and five of the six lines are favorable, fortunate, or without fault. The warning is the sixth line, where no one helps and the text calls it misfortune.

Past that, the I Ching isn't dealing in "good" and "bad" cards. Increase is honest that benefit grows when it flows, and that holding it all stops it. So the honest answer is: a good hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to let it flow.

Hexagram 42: yes or no?

The I Ching doesn't give a flat yes or no, but Increase's lean is clear: "yes to going for it, and to giving; no to only taking." It splits by what you're actually asking:

• Should I go for the big venture? — yes. The Judgment is favorable to undertake things and to cross the great river.
• Should I accept a benefit that's freely offered? — yes. On the usual reading, the second line is a benefit that arrives unforced. That isn't about accepting anything pressed on you.
• Should I only take, and give nothing back? — no. The sixth line has no one helping, and the text calls it misfortune.

The more useful question Increase answers isn't only "yes or no?" but "is the benefit flowing both ways?"

How to read hexagram 42 in a reading

If you've cast hexagram 42, start with the situation it describes: benefit that flows. Where is it flowing, and is it going both ways? Then look at your changing line — it tells you where in the flow you stand: a great work, a gift received, a gain put to use, a plan for everyone, sincere giving, or only taking. Finally, the resulting hexagram: the state things tend toward as the benefit settles.

In short: the primary hexagram sets the situation, the changing lines set the action, and the resulting hexagram sets the direction. For the finer mechanics of weighing one or more changing lines, see how to read changing lines.

The changing lines of hexagram 42

The I Ching is also called the Book of Changes. When your cast includes a changing line (an old yin or old yang), that line shows you where in hexagram 42's flow the live tension sits. Read the line you've drawn.

(The wording below is a plain-English paraphrase of the traditional line images, not a strict translation from any single edition. A few archaic phrases, including the tortoise-shell, jade tablet, and moving-the-capital images, are rendered by their underlying meaning, and none of them is practical advice.)

• Line 1 — a great work. "It is favorable to use it for a great work: supreme fortune, no fault." What to do: take on the big work.
• Line 2 — a gift arrives. "Someone adds to him a precious tortoise-shell, worth ten pairs of cowries; he can't refuse it. Lasting steadfastness: fortune. The king offers it to the High God: fortune." On the usual reading, a precious gift arrives unforced and fittingly, and the shell is a divination shell. The line isn't about being pressured to accept anything. What to do: accept what's freely and fittingly given, and use it for something higher.
• Line 3 — a gain put to use. "Increase put to use in a grim matter: no fault. Sincere, keeping to the middle way, he reports to the duke with a jade tablet." On the usual reading, it means putting a gain to use in a crisis, openly and with accountability. What to do: use the surplus where it's needed, and say so openly.
• Line 4 — a plan for everyone. "Keeping to the middle way, he reports to the duke, and is followed; it is favorable to use it as the basis for moving the capital." On the usual reading, a plan that benefits everyone is followed, even a major change. What to do: bring a plan that benefits all.
• Line 5 — sincere giving. "With sincerity and a generous heart, no need to ask: supreme fortune. With sincerity, people receive my kindness in return." On the usual reading, it's generosity that's genuine, and it isn't a call to give to anyone who demands it. What to do: give sincerely, without keeping score.
• Line 6 — only taking. "No one adds to him; someone strikes him; the heart is set without constancy: misfortune." On the usual reading, it describes someone who only takes and doesn't hold steady, and the opposition that follows. It isn't saying that people who are attacked or harmed deserved it. What to do: give as well as take, and hold steady.

Related hexagrams

• Hexagram 41, Decrease (損) — the upside-down pair of Increase, and the hexagram just before it in the traditional sequence. Turn hexagram 42 over and you get Decrease. In the traditional sequence, a decrease that goes on long enough turns to increase.
• Hexagram 32, Duration (恆) — the opposite hexagram (every line reversed): where 42 is wind over thunder, 32 is thunder over wind, and growth becomes constancy.
• Hexagram 23, Splitting Apart (剝) — the nuclear hexagram inside 42. It can be read as the hidden base that the increase builds on.
• Hexagram 43, Breakthrough (夬) — the next hexagram in the traditional sequence: an increase that doesn't stop must break through.
• See all 64 in the complete I Ching hexagram guide.

Common mistakes with hexagram 42

• Reading Increase as a promise that you'll gain money or things. The hexagram is about benefit that flows both ways, and about giving. The Judgment is about ventures, and it doesn't predict what you'll receive.
• Reading the generosity lines as a call to give without limit, or to sacrifice yourself. The fifth line is generosity that's chosen freely, and the fourth is a plan that benefits both sides. The hexagram doesn't ask you to keep giving to someone who isn't giving back.
• Reading the sixth line as blaming people who are attacked or harmed. The line describes someone who only takes and doesn't hold steady, and the opposition that follows. It isn't saying that anyone who is attacked or harmed deserved it.

FAQ

What does I Ching hexagram 42 mean?Hexagram 42, Increase (Yì), means benefit that flows and multiplies: giving from above to below, with growth for both sides. It advises going for the venture, giving sincerely, learning from what's good, correcting your faults, and not only taking.

Is hexagram 42 good or bad?Very favorable, with one warning. The Judgment is favorable to undertake things and to cross the great river, and five of the six lines are favorable, fortunate, or without fault. The warning is the sixth line, where no one helps and the text calls it misfortune. It's a good hexagram to draw, and one that asks you to let the benefit flow.

What does hexagram 42 mean in love?Usually appears when a bond is giving each side something. It counsels giving sincerely without keeping score, accepting what's freely offered, and correcting faults when you see them. It isn't a call for sacrifice, and it doesn't ask you to keep giving to someone who isn't giving back. It doesn't say whether to stay or go.

What if I have a changing line in hexagram 42?The changing line tells you where in the flow you are. Line 1 is a great work; line 2 is a gift arriving; line 3 is a gain put to use; line 4 is a plan for everyone; line 5 is sincere giving; line 6 is only taking.