易Astro I ChingRead change, not a fixed verdict
中文EN
← I Ching Hexagram Guide
HEXAGRAM 42 · yì

Increase

Increase that actually nourishes: directing added resources where life can grow

风雷益Classical Chinese included
Translation approach

The Chinese source stays visible. Where an editorial close rendering is available, it stays near the wording before Astro I Ching expands into cultural interpretation. Why we separate these layers →

CLASSICAL CHINESE

The source anchor

Read the source first. The English layer below remains accountable to these passages rather than replacing them with a simplified verdict.

卦辞 · Judgment
益：利有攸往。利涉大川。
Close rendering

Increase: favorable to have somewhere to go. Favorable to cross the great river.

《大象》 · Image
风雷，益；君子以见善则迁，有过则改。
Close rendering

Wind and Thunder: Increase. The noble person therefore moves toward what is good when seeing it and changes faults when having them.

How to read the middle layer

Close rendering stays near wording and sequence. It is not presented as the only possible translation; the cultural reading below is where Astro I Ching explains image, structure, and practical logic in fuller English.

ASTRO I CHING · CULTURAL READING

Why this hexagram says what it says

Cultural reading of the image

Wind follows Thunder and spreads movement outward. Yi speaks of increase, but its deeper question is where the added capacity actually flows.

Cultural reading of the judgment

Good increase is more than “more.” Trust, resources, and ability matter because of what they enable and what they leave behind.

SIX LINES · ONE STORY

How the hexagram develops from bottom to top

Line 1 · 初九
Classical Chinese
利用为大作，元吉，无咎。
Close rendering

Favorable to use this for a great undertaking. Great good fortune; no blame.

Cultural reading

New advantage creates responsibility to use it on something genuinely important rather than merely expanding consumption.

Line 2 · 六二
Classical Chinese
或益之，十朋之龟弗克违，永贞吉。王用享于帝，吉。
Close rendering

Someone increases it. Even a tortoise worth ten pairs cannot oppose this. Enduring constancy brings good fortune. The king uses this to make offering to the Highest. Good fortune.

Cultural reading

When support arrives from outside, remaining steady and principled is more useful than doubting whether one deserves it.

Line 3 · 六三
Classical Chinese
益之用凶事，无咎。有孚中行，告公用圭。
Close rendering

Increase used in a time of misfortune. No blame. There is trust and one walks the middle path, reporting to the prince with a jade tablet.

Cultural reading

Resources used sincerely in a crisis can convert an unexpected event into public value.

Line 4 · 六四
Classical Chinese
中行，告公从。利用为依迁国。
Close rendering

Walking the middle path, report to the prince and be followed. Favorable to rely on this when moving the capital.

Cultural reading

A middle position can use added strength as leverage for a larger transition or reorganization.

Line 5 · 九五
Classical Chinese
有孚惠心，勿问元吉。有孚惠我德。
Close rendering

There is trust and a benevolent heart. Do not ask: great good fortune. Trust makes my virtue beneficial.

Cultural reading

Increase becomes meaningful when other people actually experience the benefit, not only when numbers rise on paper.

Line 6 · 上九
Classical Chinese
莫益之，或击之，立心勿恒，凶。
Close rendering

No one increases him; someone may strike him. If the heart is not steady, misfortune.

Cultural reading

Wanting only more without a stable principle invites backlash; increase needs direction or it can reverse into harm.

BRING IT BACK TO LIFE

What this can help you notice

Useful when new resources arrive and the question is whether they increase real capability rather than only volume.

A common misreading

Increase is not automatically benefit. Added capacity without direction can create a larger problem.

Keep the classical text and the interpretive layer separate: one is the source, the other is Astro I Ching's explanation of how the source can be read.

Open the full Chinese source page