Yi
Increase
The Image
Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the superior person, seeing what is good, imitates it; having faults, corrects them.
The Judgment
Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water. Energy flows downward from above, enriching all below. This is a time of genuine expansion, growth, and the multiplication of resources.
Description
Yi shows wind above and thunder below, two forces that strengthen each other through their interaction. The wind feeds the thunder; the thunder disperses what the wind carries. This hexagram represents the favorable moment when energy flows from those who have toward those who need, creating growth and abundance for all. Where Decrease asked for sacrifice, Increase offers reward.
The image of the superior person imitating what is good and correcting what is faulty captures the dynamic quality of increase: it is not passive receipt of fortune but active participation in growth. Increase comes to those who are already moving in the right direction, reinforcing their efforts and multiplying their results.
Deeper Meaning
Yi teaches that the universe is generous to those who use their resources wisely. When the decrease has been sincere — when life has been simplified and energy focused — the natural response of the world, in this reading, is increase.
The hexagram describes a moment when circumstances conspire to support growth, when the wind is at one's back and the ground underfoot is fertile. The traditional counsel is to use this favorable period for significant projects, major thresholds, and long-term investment.
Life Areas
Love & Relationships
Increase in love is classically read as a period of growing intimacy, deepening affection, and the enrichment of partnership through shared experience and mutual generosity.
The hexagram favors significant commitments, shared ventures, and the expansion of the relationship into new territory. The love between partners, in this reading, is multiplying, and each act of generosity is returned manifold.
Career & Work
Yi in career matters is classically read as one of the most favorable hexagrams for professional growth, new ventures, and bold initiatives. Resources are available, support is forthcoming, and the conditions for advancement are read as optimal.
The traditional counsel favors launching the planned project, pursuing the prepared-for position, or investing in the evaluated opportunity. The winds of increase, in this reading, are blowing — and the time for action is now.
Health
Increase in health is classically read as improving vitality, successful treatments, and the body's positive response to care and attention. This is described as a time when health investments pay off with interest.
The hexagram reads new exercise programs, nutritional changes, and healing practices as likely to produce better results than expected during this period. The body, in this reading, is in a receptive state, ready to grow stronger in response to effort.
Advice
The traditional counsel of Yi is to act boldly during this period of increase — undertaking significant projects, crossing major thresholds, investing in the future with confidence. Conditions are read as favorable, and efforts are multiplied by the supportive energy of the time. Imitating what is good and correcting what is wrong, the hexagram's classical counsel runs, allows the natural momentum of increase to carry one forward.
Changing Lines
Changing lines in Yi explore different manifestations of increase: from the sudden windfall that tests your stewardship to the gradual growth that rewards patience, from the increase that comes from above to the increase that arises from within. Each line asks how you will use the abundance that is flowing toward you.
I Ching Study Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does I Ching Hexagram 42 (Yi) mean?
Hexagram 42, Yi (益), translates to "Increase." It is composed of Wind/Thunder and associated with the Wood element. Yi teaches that the universe is generous to those who use their resources wisely. When the decrease has been sincere — when life has been simplified and energy focused — the natural response of the world, in this reading, is increase.
What is the advice of Hexagram 42 (Yi)?
The traditional counsel of Yi is to act boldly during this period of increase — undertaking significant projects, crossing major thresholds, investing in the future with confidence. Conditions are read as favorable, and efforts are multiplied by the supportive energy of the time.
What does Yi mean for love and relationships?
Increase in love is classically read as a period of growing intimacy, deepening affection, and the enrichment of partnership through shared experience and mutual generosity. The hexagram favors significant commitments, shared ventures, and the expansion of the relationship into new territory.
What does Yi mean for career?
Yi in career matters is classically read as one of the most favorable hexagrams for professional growth, new ventures, and bold initiatives. Resources are available, support is forthcoming, and the conditions for advancement are read as optimal. The traditional counsel favors launching the planned project, pursuing the prepared-for position, or investing in the evaluated opportunity.
What do the changing lines mean in Hexagram 42?
Changing lines in Yi explore different manifestations of increase: from the sudden windfall that tests your stewardship to the gradual growth that rewards patience, from the increase that comes from above to the increase that arises from within. Each line asks how you will use the abundance that is flowing toward you.