I Ching · 42
Increase
Giving from above to below — rightful enrichment
Trigrams
Upper trigram (context)
Lower trigram (subject)
The judgment
Increase. It furthers one to have a goal. It furthers one to cross the great water. When energy is communicated from above to below, what receives rises and what gives does not diminish.
The image
Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the conscious being, seeing the good, imitates it; seeing his faults, corrects them.
Symbolism
Hexagram 42 is composed of the Thunder trigram (震 zhèn) below and the Wind trigram (巽 xùn) above. Thunder is the impetus that springs from earth toward heaven; wind is the penetrating breath that descends and spreads everywhere. Together they figure a living circulation where energy from above is transmitted to the base, and where the base sets itself in motion under that impulse. It is the image of the sovereign who opens his granaries, the master who transmits his knowledge, the parent who gives without calculating.
The character 益 (yì) means to increase, to augment, to enrich, to benefit. Graphically it represents an overflowing vessel — abundance that does not keep itself for itself but spreads outward. In the I Ching's context, this increase is never arithmetic: it is not a matter of amassing more, but of letting circulate what is already given. The hexagram's fundamental trait is its structure: a yang line at the summit of the lower trigram (the first line, firm) receives the energy descending from above. The generosity of the summit fertilises the base.
The six lines 1-0-0-0-1-1 trace precisely this movement: the base receives (strong yang in the first line), the centre is open and receptive (three yin in the middle that welcome), the summit radiates (two yang that transmit). Increase does not fall from the sky by chance: it is borne by one who, occupying a high position, chooses to send it downward.
General meaning
Hexagram 42 indicates a period of fertile generosity, where energy circulates from above to below, from strong to weak, from full to empty. When this card appears, the querent is invited to recognise that they are in a cycle of giving — either able to give generously to one more deprived than themselves, or receiving from a higher source (mentor, institution, inheritance, transmission). In both cases, the right gesture consists in letting it flow.
Increase stands as the mirror opposite of hexagram 41 (Decrease), where one takes from the base to give to the summit. Hexagram 42 reverses the movement: one takes from the summit to give to the base. This is not an impoverishment of the summit — it is precisely because the summit is in abundance that it can give without exhausting itself. Right generosity always comes from overflow, never from forced sacrifice. This is an essential distinction that the I Ching maintains rigorously: what is given from a reserve nourishes; what is torn from a lack impoverishes the giver without enriching the receiver.
The judgment specifies: it furthers one to have a goal, it furthers one to cross the great water. This is to say that this period of increase is not made for passivity; it supports ambitious undertakings, long-term commitments, difficult crossings. The energy is there, it wants to be used. The sage who receives this card is invited to dare what they had hesitated to undertake, because the forces of the moment accompany them.
In a favourable position
In a favourable context, hexagram 42 is one of the happiest in the I Ching. It announces a period when what is undertaken finds itself supported, when encounters bring what is needed, when generosity received naturally finds its way to be redistributed. Mentoring, transmission, inheritances, opportunities offered by those higher placed, fertility of collective projects: everything indicates that energy circulates in the right direction.
The querent can engage with confidence, knowing they are carried by a current wider than their will alone. This is also the ideal moment to undertake something that exceeds their personal interest — to found, to transmit, to teach, to share a competence. Every gift made in this state of mind returns enriched.
In a challenging position
In a difficult position, hexagram 42 warns against the temptation of forced generosity — that which does not enrich but exhausts. Giving what one does not have, sacrificing oneself without reserve, wanting to rescue everyone out of guilt or need for recognition: this is not Increase in the sense of the I Ching, it is its caricature. The card recalls that true generosity presupposes a prior abundance, and that taking care of one's own source is the first condition for being able to nourish others.
It may also indicate an imbalance in the circulation: a querent who receives much without ever redistributing, or who gives much without accepting to receive. In both cases, the flow is interrupted and the increase ceases. The remedy is to recover just reciprocity — not by accounting, but by fluidity of gesture.
Reading by domain
- Love
- A period of mutual enrichment. A relationship receives what it needed to grow: time, attention, words long held back, a clearer commitment. If the relationship is new, it benefits from a generous and carrying impetus. If it is established, this is the moment to offer the other what one was withholding without reason. Beware however: giving by calculation or to fill a personal void does not produce Increase — only generosity flowing from abundance truly fertilises.
- Work
- A favourable moment to transmit, train, share an expertise. For those who occupy a position of responsibility, this is the time to redistribute — delegation, mentoring, opening opportunities to those younger. For those at the beginning of their path, this is the time to receive attentively what is offered by their elders. The card also supports ambitious entrepreneurial projects: it furthers one to cross the great water means here that a bold commitment will find the necessary supports.
- Health
- Energy available to sustain an effort of recovery or strengthening. A good moment to receive care, accept help, allow oneself to be accompanied — health benefits from all that circulates in generosity. For caregivers and accompaniers, vigilance about exhaustion through giving: nourishing one's own source is here a necessity, not a luxury.
- Spirituality
- A period of fertile spiritual transmission. Possible encounter with a teacher, a lineage, a practice that brings what was missing. For those who are themselves in a position to transmit, this is the moment to give without reserve what one has received, without making it an instrument of power. The card recalls that true spirituality circulates — it is not hoarded.
- Finances
- A favourable period for financial flows, particularly when they fit within a logic of redistribution or useful investment. Gifts received, inheritances, long-term investment opportunities, institutional supports: energy moves in the querent's favour. Inversely, expenses made to transmit or to support a project that exceeds personal interest are well placed. Caution about impulsive generosity that does not rest on a real reserve.
The six moving lines
From bottom to top. Only the lines that actually mutated in your reading should be read for this hexagram.
- Line 1 (at the beginning, nine) — It furthers one to accomplish great works. Supreme good fortune. No fault. The base receives a strong energy; what was in germ can deploy itself widely. The moment supports right ambition — not narrow personal ambition, but the work that benefits many.
- Line 2 (six in the second place) — Someone increases him, ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents an offering to the Supreme One: good fortune. Right receptivity to what is offered. Generosity received is not a due to be exploited, but a gift to be honoured — hence the ritual image of the offering.
- Line 3 (six in the third place) — One is increased through unfortunate events. No fault if one is sincere and walks in the just mean, informing the prince with a seal. Even trials can be a source of increase for the one who crosses them with uprightness. A delicate line that recalls that increase sometimes passes through what at first seems a loss.
- Line 4 (six in the fourth place) — If one walks in the just mean and informs the prince, one is followed. It furthers one to be employed in moving the capital. Position of mediation: transmitting what comes from above toward the base, bridging the levels. A line that supports ambassadors, mediators, conveyors.
- Line 5 (nine in the fifth place) — To have a sincere heart that blesses. Do not ask for good fortune from it; supreme good fortune. The heart recognises my virtue. Position of the generous sovereign. Authentic generosity does not seek its reward; it is its own reward. This is the highest expression of the hexagram.
- Line 6 (at the top, nine) — No one increases him, perhaps someone strikes him. The heart is not constant in its resolutions. Misfortune. Warning: the one who occupies the summit and refuses to redistribute, who wishes to receive without giving, draws upon himself the reversal of the flow. This is the only clearly negative line of the hexagram.
When all six lines are moving
When all six lines are moving, hexagram 42 (Increase) transforms entirely into hexagram 41 (Decrease). This is the passage from descending movement (giving from above to below) to ascending movement (raising from below to above). The lesson is subtle: increase pushed to its term calls for its opposite — one must also know how to receive, to let rise, to accept being nourished by the base. Pure giving without return ends by reversing itself; living circulation requires both movements.
Historical note
Hexagrams 41 (Decrease) and 42 (Increase) form, in King Wen's order, a central pair of the I Ching, often commented on as one of the hearts of Chinese ethics. Confucius, according to a tradition reported in Sima Qian's Historical Memoirs, is said to have sighed before these two hexagrams, saying they alone summed up the way of just government: knowing when to take from the base to serve the summit (41) and when to take from the summit to nourish the base (42). The Song commentators, in the 11th century, would make it a pillar of their political reflection: a sovereign who never practises the 42 — who never redistributes what he has received — loses the mandate of Heaven. Conversely, a sovereign who permanently practises the 41 without ever reversing the movement exhausts his people. The balance of the two is the mark of the awakened ruler, and more broadly, of any being in a position of responsibility.
Keywords
The themes this hexagram touches. Click any keyword to see the other hexagrams that share it.
Related hexagrams
Three related hexagrams from the canonical combinatorics. Click to explore their fiche.
Frequently asked
- What exactly is the difference between hexagram 41 and hexagram 42?
- Both describe a transfer of energy, but in reverse directions. The 41 (Decrease) takes from the base to give to the summit — it is the movement of tax, of sacrifice, of effort consented to from below to support a higher cause. The 42 (Increase) takes from the summit to give to the base — it is the movement of redistribution, of transmission, of mentoring. Both movements are necessary in a living system, but they apply at different moments. Drawing the 42 means that the phase is one of redistribution, not contraction.
- Should this hexagram be understood as an invitation to sacrifice oneself for others?
- No, and it is even the opposite. The I Ching carefully distinguishes between generosity that comes from abundance and sacrifice that comes from lack. The 42 describes the first: an energy that naturally overflows and flows out without impoverishing its source. Giving what one does not have, depriving oneself to rescue, emptying one's own reserve out of guilt — all this is not Increase in the I Ching's sense; it is rather an unbalanced form of the 41. The practical rule: if giving exhausts you durably, it is not the 42. If giving makes you more alive, you are in the right movement.
- How can I recognise that I am in a period of increase in my life?
- A few concordant signs: encounters bring what was needed at the moment it was needed; resources arrive without one having had to tear them out; one feels in a position to transmit or to help without excessive effort; ambitious projects find supports. Inversely, if everything demands wrenching and if each gift leaves one bloodless, one is not in the 42 but probably in another configuration. The I Ching invites one to recognise the seasons: there are times to give, times to receive, times to withdraw. Drawing the 42 names a specific time, not a permanent virtue.
- What should I do if I draw hexagram 42 but I do not feel at all in abundance?
- Two possible readings. First hypothesis: the increase is on its way, it is not yet visible. Line 1 describes precisely this moment — the base receives a strong impulse while nothing is yet manifest. The instruction is then to prepare oneself to receive and to let circulate what arrives. Second hypothesis: the card invites one to recognise an abundance already present but unperceived — time, competence, attention, bond, experience. Many people in "lack" actually have a form of richness that they do not see as such. The I Ching then invites a shift of gaze before any material shift.