Hexagram 42 of 64
Increase
益 Yì
Upper trigram: 巽 Xùn, wind
Lower trigram: 震 Zhèn, thunder
The judgment
利有攸往。利涉大川。
It is fitting to have somewhere to go. It is fitting to cross the great river.
The Great Image
風雷，益；君子以見善則遷，有過則改。
Wind and thunder: Increase. In the same way, the noble person on seeing good moves toward it and on having faults corrects them.
The six lines
Lines are counted from the bottom. Read a line closely when it changes in your cast.
Line 1 初九
利用為大作，元吉，无咎。
It is fitting to use this for great works. Supreme good fortune. No blame.
The line favors using a good moment for great work. Ask what large task you have held back for lack of a moment like this one.
Line 2 六二
或益之，十朋之龜弗克違，永貞吉。王用享于帝，吉。
Someone may increase it. A tortoise worth ten strings of cowries cannot go against it. Holding firm for the long term brings good fortune. The king makes an offering to the High God. Good fortune.
The same costly tortoise appears here as in hexagram 41, and the king makes his offering to the High God. If something good has come to you, consider how you could honor it beyond yourself and over a long time.
Line 3 六三
益之用凶事，无咎。有孚中行，告公用圭。
It is increased through calamitous events. No blame. With trust, walking the middle way, report to the duke with a jade tablet.
Increase can come through bad events, and the jade tablet shows the report to the duke is made in good faith. If a crisis has brought you resources, ask how you could account for them openly.
Line 4 六四
中行，告公從。利用為依遷國。
Walking the middle way, report to the duke and he follows. It is fitting to use this as support for moving the capital.
Moving a capital needs the agreement of those above and the backing of those around. If you are thinking of a big move, ask who should hear it from you first and who could stand behind it.
Line 5 九五
有孚惠心，勿問元吉。有孚惠我德。
There is trust and a kind heart. Do not ask: supreme good fortune. There is trust, and my character is treated with kindness.
Here kindness is felt and the text says there is no need to ask. Ask yourself whether you have been checking if a kindness could be repaid when you could simply do it.
Line 6 上九
莫益之，或擊之，立心勿恆，凶。
No one increases him. Someone strikes him. He sets his heart without constancy. Misfortune.
No one adds to this person, someone strikes him, and his heart keeps shifting. Consider whether gain taken only for yourself could leave you without allies when trouble arrives.
What this hexagram says
Thunder below, wind above: both are forces that move and each strengthens the other. It stands for gain that comes when those above give something to those below.
The judgment is short and encouraging: there is somewhere to go and a river can be crossed. The image ties growth to two habits: moving toward what is good and correcting faults when you find them. Ask which of those two you have been avoiding.
If your question is about a new venture, a promotion or a chance to help others, tradition reads this as a time when it is right to act. Several lines connect gain to honest dealing with those in authority. The top line is a caution about someone who takes without giving and whose aims keep changing.
A hexagram is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.
Where this text comes from
The Chinese follows the Wikisource text of the Zhou Yi (its page for this hexagram, 周易/益), compared with the Project Gutenberg edition. The Great Image comes from the Wikisource page 周易/大象.
- Wikisource, 周易
Retrieved 2026-11-08
- Project Gutenberg eBook 25501, 易經
Retrieved 2026-11-08
Read this hexagram with its traditional commentaries in our library.
Where the sources differ
- In the fourth line, Wikisource (A) keeps 國 (state, capital) and notes that another text has 邦, a word of the same meaning.
The English renderings and the advice are by Cast & Chart. The advice is a modern reading and is not part of the classical text.