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Hexagram 42: Increase

䷩ 益 (Yì) · Increase. Fortune favors bold, generous action.

growth, generosity, initiative, improvement

Lower trigram: Thunder ☳ · Upper trigram: Wind ☴

The judgment

A time of increase: what comes from above flows down to strengthen what lies below. It is a good moment to begin something worthwhile, even to cross wide water. Use the momentum generously, for the good of others as well as your own.

The image

Wind above Thunder: each strengthens the other, wind driving the thunder and thunder stirring the wind. When you see something good, take it up; when you find a fault in yourself, let it go.

The six lines

Read only the lines that changed in your casting, counting from the bottom.

• Line 1 (bottom): This upswing gives you the strength to do something significant. Put it to work for a worthwhile purpose and the effort is well spent.
• Line 2: Something good comes to you that nothing can stand against. Stay steady and sincere, and offer what you receive back to something larger than yourself.
• Line 3: Growth reaches you through difficult events. Act truthfully, keep to the middle, and be open with those who need to know; then the hardship serves a purpose.
• Line 4: If you walk the middle road and speak plainly to those in charge, they are likely to listen. Someone trusted like this can help carry a big change, even a move to a new home.
• Line 5: If your kindness is real, there is no need to ask whether it will be noticed. Genuine goodwill tends to be recognized and returned.
• Line 6 (top): Someone who adds to no one's good invites others to strike back. A changeable heart that only takes stands on poor footing.

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