Hexagram 42, Wind over Thunder: Increase (Yi), is the 42nd of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. It is made of the Xun trigram (wind) above the Zhen trigram (thunder), and it speaks about a time of being added to and receiving support, and about the idea that giving is how you get something back.

Hexagram 42 (Yi) at a Glance

Attribute	Detail
Number	42 of 64
Name	Wind over Thunder: Increase (Yi)
Image	☴ over ☳ (wind over thunder)
Inner (lower) trigram	Zhen ☳, thunder, movement
Outer (upper) trigram	Xun ☴, wind, gentle entry
Element	Wood
Overall tone	A time of gain and benefit
Yang lines	3 of 6
Reversed hexagram (turned upside down)	Hexagram 41, Mountain over Lake: Decrease (Sun)

The Original Text and Its Meaning

This part gives the classical wording of Hexagram 42 in English, with a plain explanation. If you only care about how the hexagram applies to daily life, feel free to skim it and jump to the later sections.

The Judgment

Increase: it is favorable to have somewhere to go, and favorable to cross the great river.

In plain words: Increase means that having a direction to move in is favorable, and so is crossing a big river. Few judgments in the I Ching are this openly encouraging, and this one praises both moving forward and getting through hard things. When you are in a time of being added to, with support and the right conditions, do not stand still. This is the time to take on big tasks, to start things and to accept responsibility. Being handed an opportunity and not using it wastes what you were given.

The Image

Wind and thunder: this is Increase. A wise person, seeing this, follows what is good when they see it, and corrects themselves when they have made a mistake.

Wind and thunder help each other: the wind makes the thunder stronger, and the thunder makes the wind faster. The image points to self-increase, which means a person adding to themselves. When you see someone doing something well, you learn from it without delay. When you notice a mistake, you fix it instead of hiding. That is how real growth happens.

The Six Lines

The six lines of Increase describe six situations of a person who is being added to, helped and given opportunities, and how to use what they receive in the right way. Read from the bottom up: Line 1 is the lowest line and Line 6 is the highest.

Line	Classical wording	Plain meaning
Line 1 (nine at the start)	It is favorable to use this for great undertakings. Supreme good fortune. No fault.	Good for using the gain to do something big. Very good, no mistake
Line 2 (six in the second place)	Someone adds to this with ten pairs of precious tortoise shells, and it cannot be refused. Lasting perseverance brings good fortune. The king offers it to the heavenly lord. Good fortune.	Valuable gifts arrive and cannot be turned down. Staying on the right path over the long term is good. The king uses it for a sacrifice to heaven. Good
Line 3 (six in the third place)	Increase is used for unfortunate matters: no fault. With sincerity and walking the middle path, one reports to the duke holding a jade tablet.	The gain is used to deal with misfortune, and there is no fault. With sincerity and a balanced course, one reports to a high authority with due respect
Line 4 (six in the fourth place)	Walking the middle path, one reports to the duke, who follows. It is favorable to rely on this to move the capital.	Stay balanced, report upward, and the authority will go along. It is favorable to use this support for a major relocation
Line 5 (nine in the fifth place)	With sincerity and a kind heart, there is no need to ask: supreme good fortune. With sincerity, others repay one's virtue with kindness.	Real goodwill needs no divination. Others answer sincerity with kindness in return
Line 6 (nine at the top)	No one adds to this, and someone may even strike it. A heart that is not constant brings misfortune.	No more help arrives, and someone may even attack. An unsteady heart leads to trouble

Reading the Six Lines in Everyday Terms

The six lines of Hexagram 42 are six situations of someone receiving outside support, from the moment the momentum begins to the moment it is lost through greed. It is one of the few hexagrams with a very good beginning and a heavy warning at the end.

Line 1: Support arrives, so use it for something big. This is a person who has just been given more resources: new investment money, a major project from the boss, family funding to start a business, an opportunity that arrives at exactly the right time. The line is clear: it is favorable to use what you gain for big things. Do not spend it on small stuff, and do not hold on to it out of fear of running out. When life gives you momentum, put that momentum into something worthwhile. A person in this line who does it well tends to get excellent results.

Line 2: Ten pairs of precious tortoise shells arrive on their own. The ancient picture in this line is lovely: someone brings valuable gifts that cannot be refused. Today it looks like an unexpected offer of help from a respected person, a big client who comes to you, or a valuable invitation to collaborate. The line says to accept it, but to hold on to your own principles afterward. What you receive is not only yours. It is given so that you can do the right thing. Holding steady over the long run is what makes it good.

If you want to cast a hexagram and read the matching explanation, you can try it on HOROS.

Line 3: Use the gain on a difficult matter. This line has a special position: it uses the gain to deal with misfortune, such as an accident, a crisis, or a sudden problem in the family or at the company. The line says there is no fault, as long as there is sincerity and a balanced course. Many people who get money or opportunities think only about enjoying them. A mature person uses what they have received when it is needed most, even when the task is hard. Doing this lets you report to those above you with an honest heart.

Line 4: Even a capital can be moved. This line speaks about the biggest undertaking in the hexagram: changing the whole direction, moving an entire organization, relocating a whole base. A person in this role already has the strength, the authority and the followers to do it. But the line stresses one idea: walk the middle path. Have the power to change the whole situation and still keep your balance, without going to extremes or rushing. Report clearly to those above you, and they tend to back you. This may be the finest stretch for someone in a leading position.

Line 5: Sincere generosity. This is the central line of the hexagram. A person here has a true heart and a willingness to be generous to those below, without waiting to be asked. The line says there is no need to ask, because it is supremely good. In return, people below answer with sincerity toward your virtue. Giving and receiving become a natural circle with no calculation. This is the highest level of Increase: you give not in order to get something back, but when you give rightly, a response tends to come on its own.

Line 6: No one adds to this anymore, and someone may even strike. This is the other side of the hexagram. The person has received a lot, but the heart is not steady, and they only want to receive more without giving. The "heart that is not constant" in the original text is a heart that cannot hold to the right way over time. At first there are people who help, then nobody helps, and some may even turn on you. The I Ching warns plainly: misfortune. If you keep receiving and never learn to give back or to do your part, in the end even the people who valued you may leave.

What Hexagram 42 Means for Love, Career, Money and Health

Love

Casting Hexagram 42 for love often signals a stage in which the relationship is being added to: the two people are helping each other grow, or a trusted third party is supporting the relationship (family approval, friends cheering you on, favorable outside conditions). It is a very good time to take a step forward, such as meeting the family, getting engaged or living together. The hexagram does leave a reminder in Line 6: if one side only takes and never gives, the relationship may wear thin over time. Love in this hexagram grows in the direction of both people being added to.

Career

For career, Increase leans toward a time of being handed more opportunities: the boss gives you an important project, you get promoted, an investor puts in money, or a big client comes looking for you. It is the time to use what you receive for big things, as Line 1 advises, rather than a time to coast. Someone starting a business who casts this hexagram often has a surprisingly smooth stretch and gets valuable support. Remember two things: when you receive, you should give back, and never let the wish to receive overpower the spirit of giving. Line 5 offers the best advice: treat your partners, staff and collaborators generously, and things tend to flow.

Money

For money, Wind over Thunder is the hexagram of income arriving steadily and at the right time: a raise, a profitable project, an investment that pays off, or an unexpected gift or inheritance. The hexagram's consistent advice is to use what you have on worthwhile things, neither wasting it nor hoarding it selfishly. It is a good time to invest in your own main business, to expand with care, or to help family members who are struggling. Line 6 warns directly: someone who only collects and never shares may find nobody beside them when hard times return. Wealth in this period grows with a generous heart, not a tight grip.

Health

For health, Increase often points to a stage in which the body is recovering and absorbing well: a good appetite, deep sleep, workouts that show results, supplements that seem to work. It is a good time to build a foundation of health for the long stretch ahead. You may add a form of exercise that suits you, and get a general checkup to see what needs building up and what needs cutting back. Be careful about overdoing it, though: too many vitamins can hurt as much as too few, and training too hard can break you down just like inactivity. Just enough is the key.

Final Thoughts: Real Increase Is What You Add to Yourself

Many people remember this hexagram as the one about gaining and benefiting, so casting it feels like good news. What is more interesting is the line in the Image: follow what is good, and fix what is wrong. The greatest increase in Hexagram 42 is not wealth or an opportunity from heaven, but what you add to yourself by learning and correcting yourself every day. Give, and something comes back. Fix your mistakes, and you grow. Learn from what others do well, and you become more solid. Those three are the kind of increase that lasts.