I Ching / Hexagram 42

Hexagram 42: I, Increase

Describes a time of growth when those who have more give to those who have less, forces add up and great undertakings succeed.

Wind and thunder strengthen each other, and everything grows.

The situation

This is a time of growth and abundance, when what is above gives itself to what is below and everyone comes out ahead. Energies add up and what you undertake finds support. This momentum doesn’t last long, so make the most of it with generosity and decisiveness.

The advice

You’d do well to take on important projects and imitate the good you see in others, correcting your mistakes quickly. Avoid keeping the benefit to yourself; increase lasts when it is shared.

The judgement

The traditional Judgment is brief and highly favorable: it furthers one to undertake something and to cross the great water, a classic image for risky ventures, long journeys and far-reaching decisions. The commentaries explain where that momentum comes from: what is above lowers itself to enrich what is below, and the people, having benefited, respond with joy and loyalty. A government, a company or a family grows when whoever is in charge shares instead of hoarding. Today it reads as a window of opportunity: there’s a tailwind, support is available and there’s energy to launch what has been waiting a long time. The Judgment asks you to seize it decisively, because these times don’t last, and generously, because increase that stays locked in a single hand stagnates. It also suggests using the good run to correct yourself: a time of abundance is the best moment to change habits and learn from others.

Wind over Thunder: the two trigrams

Above blows the Wind, which penetrates gently and steadily; below rumbles the Thunder, which awakens and sets things in motion. Together they form an image of mutual reinforcement: the storm stirs the air and the air carries the roar further, so each multiplies the other’s strength. That is the heart of increase. Thunder supplies the start, the sudden decision; Wind supplies the spread, the patience that carries the impulse everywhere. Tradition draws a moral lesson from this: imitate what is good as soon as you see it, like the wind, and root out your faults with the speed of thunder. Moreover, according to the commentaries, the firm line at the base comes from the upper trigram: what is high has come down to strengthen what is below.

The six lines

  1. First line. You receive a strong push from above, and it’s time to achieve something great. If you put it in the service of a generous goal, everything will go very well.
  2. Second line. A benefit comes your way that nothing can prevent. Stay steady and simple, and the good fortune will last.
  3. Third line. Even unfavorable events end up enriching you. Act with sincerity and restraint, accounting for yourself transparently.
  4. Fourth line. You serve as a go-between for those who decide and those who depend on them. Your good judgment inspires confidence for far-reaching changes.
  5. Fifth line. Your kindness is sincere, and you don’t need to ask whether it’s right. Others recognize it and return it with gratitude.
  6. Sixth line. You want to increase only for yourself and refuse to give. That lack of steadiness and generosity ends up drawing attacks and misfortune.

The archetype: The Benefactor

This is the one who has resources, power or talent and decides to put them at the service of others: the patron, the teacher who opens doors, the leader who shares the credit. Their desire is to see those around them grow and to grow with them. Their conflict appears when generosity collides with the fear of losing what they’ve built up, or with people who expect them to keep it for themselves. They often face a dark reflection, the hoarder, who prospers in the same era and with the same luck but keeps a closed fist. The benefactor’s risk is twofold: giving in order to be admired, which turns the gift into a debt, or trusting that the good run will last forever and preparing no one for when it ends.

In literature

  • The Good Person of Szechwan (Bertolt Brecht, 1943). Three gods find lodging at the home of Shen Te, a generous prostitute, and repay her with enough money to open a tobacco shop. She gives rice, shelter and credit to everyone who knocks, and an entire family moves in to live off her kindness. To save the shop, she disguises herself as a ruthless cousin, Shui Ta, who collects debts, fires people and exploits them. The benefactor and her hoarding reflection share the stage.
  • The Maiden’s Consent (Leandro Fernández de Moratín, 1806). Don Diego, a wealthy gentleman of nearly sixty, is about to marry Paquita, a sixteen-year-old girl whose match was arranged by her mother. At an inn in Alcalá he discovers that she loves Don Carlos, his own nephew. Don Diego gives up the marriage, blesses the young couple and takes them in as his children. The one who has more lowers himself to enrich those who have less, in contrast to Doña Irene, who sought only her own advantage.
  • Daddy-Long-Legs (Jean Webster, 1912). An anonymous trustee of the John Grier Home decides to pay for Jerusha Abbott’s college education on a single condition: that she write to him every month about her progress. She has only seen his long shadow on a wall and calls him Daddy-Long-Legs. Thanks to that help she studies, writes and publishes, and her benefactor, Jervis Pendleton, grows along with her until he falls in love. It embodies Increase: the one who has more gives to the one who has less, and both prosper.

In history

The Marshall Plan (1948–1952). After World War II, the United States transferred some $13 billion to the countries of Western Europe to rebuild their industry, infrastructure and trade. Secretary of State George Marshall had proposed it in 1947 in a speech at Harvard. The aid fueled a rapid recovery and, at the same time, created partners and markets for the donor itself, so it reads as an increase in which giving from above ended up benefiting everyone.

For writers

Works for a group’s period of expansion or for a generous character who lifts others up. The conflict appears when someone hoards what was meant to be shared.

Increase works for an arc of expansion: a group, a company or a family that grows because someone decides to share. In the setup, introduce the favorable opportunity, such as an inheritance, a commission or a powerful ally, and let us see who shares and who calculates. The first turn comes when growth attracts new members and a character who begins to hoard, as in the hexagram’s top line; the second, when the good run ends and it becomes clear who had prepared for winter. The resolution contrasts the generous, held up by the network they wove, with the hoarder, isolated and under attack. The mistake to avoid is abundance without cost: if everything grows without friction, the reader doesn’t feel the weight of the decision to give.

Frequently asked questions

What does hexagram 42 of the I Ching mean?

Hexagram 42, Increase, announces a stage of growth in which forces add up and projects find support. Its key is that what is above gives itself to what is below: whoever has more gives, and everyone wins. It invites you to act decisively and share the benefit, because the good run doesn’t last long.

What does hexagram 42 mean in love?

It suggests a relationship that grows richer because both people contribute without keeping score. It’s a good time for shared projects, such as moving in together, traveling or growing the family. The hexagram warns against wanting only to receive: the top line describes someone who refuses to give and ends up attracting attacks and misfortune.

Is hexagram 42 favorable?

It’s one of the most favorable hexagrams in the I Ching. The Judgment says it furthers one to undertake something and to cross the great water, that is, to take on important challenges. Its conditions are generosity and speed: the moment passes, and a benefit kept for oneself alone turns into conflict, as its last line points out.

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Published on October 4, 2026 · updated on October 18, 2026.