Increase
- Upper Trigram
- Wind
- Lower Trigram
- Thunder
The Judgment
Wind lends force to thunder, thunder lends power to wind, the two strengthening each other — Increase is about gain and benefit, about a time well suited to acting and to setting things in motion. The energy here expands upward and outward: resources are growing, help is gathering, and it is a fine moment to turn ideas into action and to build small gains into large ones. But the heart of Increase is not only getting; it is flow — real gain comes from a willingness to give, to let benefit pass downward and outward to be shared. Paring a little from above to enrich those below makes the whole the more prosperous. The tone here is to act with the current and to gain together with others: see the good and learn it, see the wrong and mend it, and use this favorable wind to accomplish something that means something to many. What is worth throwing yourself into now that would also let more people gain alongside you?
The Six Lines
First line
It is just the time to accomplish something great; set to work, and there is supreme good fortune and no blame. This line is about showing your full reach once help arrives: when the tide of gain runs high, put your strength into what truly matters. Such moments are rare; do not spend them on trifles — meet a large stage with a large sense of responsibility, and make results worthy of the help you were given.
Second line
Someone brings weighty aid that even divination cannot turn aside; hold to what is right for the long run, and it is fortunate. This line is about outward gain and inner steadfastness reinforcing each other. When benefit arrives, keep your footing all the firmer, and do not let a moment's gain go to your head; catch this help and put it to upright use, and the good fortune stays and travels far.
Third line
Even amid hard, hazardous events you gain seasoning and growth; there is no blame, so long as you keep sincerity and walk the middle way. This line is about gaining within adversity, where bad turns can temper real ability. Meeting a thorny situation, do not think only of escape; hold your integrity and stay on the straight road, and this trying passage becomes your most solid nourishment later.
Fourth line
Walking the middle way, you report your thoughts to those above and are heeded and followed; it favors driving a great adjustment, like moving the capital. This line is about mediating from the center, when high and low share one heart. When you are even-handed and truly act for the common good, your words carry weight; now is a time to be the bridge that joins above and below and moves an important change.
Fifth line
With a heart of sincerity and kindness, ask nothing, and there is supreme good fortune; your goodwill will in the end be seen and remembered. This line is about a pure kind heart carrying its own return: when you are truly good to others without seeking repayment, that heart becomes their trust and gratitude toward you. The finest gain is not schemed for but the natural fruit of a sincere heart toward others.
Top line
Thinking only of his own gain and unwilling to increase anyone, he draws attack instead; the heart wavers, cannot hold steady, and the position turns ill. This line is the warning of Increase, about gain gone crooked into taking without giving. The whole principle of Increase lies in flow and sharing; once it becomes mere grasping, hoarding every benefit, the favorable tide turns back. Keep the heart willing to share, and you keep the blessing.
Reading the Change
Increase is about gain, benefit, and acting with the current; from the first line to the top it runs from showing your full reach and catching aid while holding right, through gaining within adversity and mediating between high and low, to the return of a pure kind heart and the warning of taking without giving. It speaks of getting, and more of flow and sharing. When a line changes, the choice — what to throw yourself into, and whom to share the benefit with — turns at one particular stage. A change low down usually asks you to do great things with the tide and keep your footing rather than getting carried away; a change up top speaks to sincerity carrying its own return, and to not letting gain curdle into pure grasping. Read where the changing line falls, then the resulting hexagram, and you know which way this increase is flowing. Willing to share, you keep the blessing.