I Ching · King Wen 42 of 64
Hexagram 42 — Increase (Yì)
- gain
- generosity
- momentum
Wind (gentle penetration) over Thunder (arousing movement)
Meaning
Those above pour blessing below: a season of increase. Undertake great crossings now, and improve yourself as fortune flows.
Wind and thunder amplify each other — increase as a resonance effect, each force strengthening its partner. The season's ethic is velocity in good works: when the current is with you, hesitation is the only sin.
Love & Relationships
Generosity multiplies affection; invest fully in the bond. Invest in the bond at full flow — the trip, the promise, the vulnerable conversation you have been saving. Generosity given at the peak is remembered in the troughs.
Career & Work
Expand, hire, launch—the wind is at your back; share gains downward. This is the expansion window: hire, launch, and negotiate now, while conditions multiply every effort. Route gains conspicuously to the people below you; increase hoarded at the top is the setup for this hexagram's reversal.
Advice
Use the fruitful hour decisively; imitate good, correct faults. Hold this counsel lightly but seriously: the I Ching describes the shape of the moment, and Increase rewards those who move with that shape rather than against it.
Changing Lines
Changing lines in Increase measure how the abundance is handled — great deeds undertaken, enrichment even through unfortunate events, the king's offering accepted by heaven, and the top line's stark warning of the one who keeps his heart from increase and is struck. A moving line shows whether the flow through you is generous or beginning to dam.
Cast your own reading
Consulting the I Ching about a real question is different from reading about it. Cast the three coins online, receive your hexagram and changing lines, and see whether Increase — or one of its 63 companions — answers you.
Free · no sign-up
Frequently asked questions
- What does Hexagram 42 mean?
- Hexagram 42, Increase (Yì), is the hexagram of gain, generosity, momentum: Those above pour blessing below: a season of increase.
- What does Hexagram 42 mean for love?
- In love readings, Increase counsels: Generosity multiplies affection; invest fully in the bond. Invest in the bond at full flow — the trip, the promise, the vulnerable conversation you have been saving. Generosity given at the peak is remembered in the troughs.
- Is Hexagram 42 a good hexagram?
- In the I Ching no hexagram is simply good or bad — each describes a moment in time and how to meet it well. Increase centers on gain and generosity, and its outcome depends on following its counsel: Use the fruitful hour decisively; imitate good, correct faults. Read as guidance rather than a verdict, it points the way to the best available outcome.