#42
Increase
益 · Yì
Upper trigram
Lower trigram
Increase
益 · Yì
The Judgment
Increase. It furthers to undertake something. It furthers to cross the great waters. Wind and thunder together increase all things.
The Image
Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the superior person, seeing good, imitates it; having faults, corrects them.
Interpretation
Yì, 益, is the luminous complement of Sǔn (Hexagram 41, Decrease): where there was sacrifice, now there is abundance; where something was reduced, now everything grows. Wind (Xùn, upper trigram) and Thunder (Zhèn, lower trigram) reinforce each other like two forces of nature that, when cooperating, multiply their effect. Wind extends thunder's sound; thunder gives strength to wind's presence. Together they generate spring's expansive energy. But Yì's increase is not selfish accumulation but shared growth. The fundamental image is that of the ruler who decreases what is above to increase what is below — who takes from their own abundance to enrich their people. When prosperity flows downward, all society rises; when it accumulates only at the top, the structure collapses. Yì proclaims that the powerful's generosity is the surest source of increase for all. Yì pairs with Sǔn in King Wen's sequence as the two phases of the cosmic cycle of giving and receiving. It also connects with Tài (Hexagram 11, Peace) as another image of harmony between above and below, and with Qián (Hexagram 1, The Creative) as an expression of yang's expansive impulse. When Yì appears in your reading, the moment is exceptionally favorable for undertaking, expanding, and taking bold initiatives. It is propitious to "cross the great waters" — to embark on journeys, adventures, and projects requiring courage. The tide is in your favor. Navigate with generosity and everything you touch will grow.
In love
Yì in love announces one of any relationship's most beautiful phases: shared growth where everything improves simultaneously. Communication deepens, intimacy enriches, mutual understanding broadens, and the joy of being together multiplies day by day. Wind and Thunder cooperating are two hearts that empower each other, where one's presence amplifies the other's best. This hexagram favors couple projects requiring expansion: moving to a larger home, starting a family, jointly undertaking an adventure neither would dare attempt individually. Yì's energy sustains bold initiatives when taken in the beloved's company. For those seeking a partner, conditions are extraordinarily favorable. Your emotional generosity — the willingness to give without keeping score, to love without preconditions — naturally attracts the generous love you deserve. Yì's increase begins within: when you grow as a person, love grows around you like spring after the thaw.
In career
Yì in the professional realm is one of the I Ching's most favorable omens for business and career growth. Business expansion, income increase, opening new markets, hiring talent, and launching innovative products: all of this is powerfully favored under the energy of Wind and Thunder cooperating. But the key to Yì's success is generosity in leadership. The company that shares its benefits with employees prospers more than the one accumulating them at the top. The professional who generously teaches what they know becomes an indispensable reference. The entrepreneur who invests in their community builds an ecosystem that sustains them during storms. Yì also favors bold moves: "It furthers to cross the great waters." If you have been hesitating between prudence and expansion, this hexagram gives you the green light to act with confidence. Invest, hire, expand, innovate. But always remember that sustainable increase is that which is shared — selfishly accumulated abundance is a lake without drainage that sooner or later stagnates.
Advice
Increase speaks to you with the voice of the spring wind awakening the thunder sleeping beneath the earth, and together they make the world bloom. The judgment states: "It furthers to undertake something. It furthers to cross the great waters." The tide is high, the wind is favorable, and the stars align — this is the moment to sail toward your boldest dreams. The image teaches that "the superior person, seeing good, imitates it; having faults, corrects them." The most powerful and lasting increase comes not from material accumulation but from continuous moral growth. Each virtue you incorporate, each defect you correct, each act of kindness you imitate, increases your being in a way no material wealth can match. True prosperity is that which is shared. When you receive abundance, distribute it: not from obligation but because generosity is the pump that keeps the universe's vital energy circulating. The sea receives rivers and returns them as rain; the tree receives light and returns it as fruit. Be like the sea, be like the tree — receive with gratitude, return with generosity, and the cycle of perpetual increase will sustain you always.
Yes/No Tendency
Yì says yes with generosity. The moment is exceptionally favorable for undertaking, growing, and expanding. Take advantage of this favorable wind — periods of genuine increase are rare and must be fully used.
The wind that fills the sails does not ask where the ship is going. What favorable wind is blowing in your life that you have not yet harnessed out of fear of setting sail?
Reflection for contemplation