I Ching Hexagram 42 — Increase
Hexagram 42 is increase — a time of growth and abundance, when forces strengthen and undertakings find a tailwind. In your life it marks a distinctly favorable phase in which it is worth daring something great and crossing the great water. But the secret of increase lies in giving: it grows where what is above decreases for the sake of what is below, where you share, foster, and let what flows to you benefit others. The test lies in staying generous in what is good — emulating what you see as good, and shedding what you recognize as wrong. Whoever increases by giving finds everything flourishing. In Birth Codex your personal I Ching hexagram is calculated from your date, time and place of birth — one of 23 cosmic systems in your full reading.
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The trigrams: Wind over Thunder
Increase places Wind above Thunder: the Gentle above the Arousing. Wind and thunder strengthen each other — they appear together and intensify one another, the image of growth and furtherance. Wilhelm reads it as the counterpart to decrease: here what is above decreases for the sake of what is below, the strong gives to what lies beneath it, and precisely so the whole grows. The classical sign counts as exceedingly favorable for great undertakings. In the reading, increase is bound to a disposition: the superior person, seeing what is good, emulates it, and sheds the faults they discover in themselves — so they increase from within.
Your gifts with Hexagram 42
You recognize what others need, often before they voice it themselves — and you give without long deliberation. In projects you carry people along, because your commitment has a contagious effect: where you invest, something grows, be it a team, an idea, or a friendship. Your decisions fall more boldly than most, because you look to the long-term gain for everyone, not just the quick advantage.
Hexagram 42: shadow & growth
In giving you can lose sight of yourself — you fill the tanks of others and run your own empty, until generosity tips into quiet exhaustion. Sometimes you also keep giving where no one wants to receive anymore, and call it help, though it is more like control. Ask yourself honestly: are you giving right now because it nourishes, or because you fear that without giving you are not enough?
How to live Hexagram 42
For one week, keep a brief account in the evening: to whom did I give today, and what did I give myself? If the second column stays empty, plan one thing for the next day that serves you alone. And before you next help unasked, pause for a breath and ask: does the person truly want this, or do I want it?
Your guidance from Hexagram 42
Dare something great in this favorable time — but do not let abundance stop with you: increase grows through giving. Share, foster, and let what flows to you benefit others. Emulate the good you see, and shed the faults you find in yourself. Whoever increases by giving finds everything flourishing.
Hexagram 42 in Human Design
In Human Design each of the 64 gates corresponds exactly to one I Ching hexagram (1:1). Birth Codex derives Hexagram 42 from the position of the Sun at the moment of your birth and interprets it together with astrology, Human Design, Gene Keys, numerology and 18 further systems — individually for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Hexagram 42 “Increase” mean in the I Ching?✦
Hexagram 42 “Increase” stands for Growth and Giving and arises from the trigrams Wind and Thunder. Hexagram 42 is increase — a time of growth and abundance, when forces strengthen and undertakings find a tailwind. In your life it marks a distinctly favorable phase in which it is worth daring something great and crossing the great water. But the secret of increase lies in giving: it grows where what is above decreases for the sake of what is below, where you share, foster, and let what flows to you benefit others. The test lies in staying generous in what is good — emulating what you see as good, and shedding what you recognize as wrong. Whoever increases by giving finds everything flourishing.
Which trigrams make up Hexagram 42?✦
Increase places Wind above Thunder: the Gentle above the Arousing. Wind and thunder strengthen each other — they appear together and intensify one another, the image of growth and furtherance. Wilhelm reads it as the counterpart to decrease: here what is above decreases for the sake of what is below, the strong gives to what lies beneath it, and precisely so the whole grows. The classical sign counts as exceedingly favorable for great undertakings. In the reading, increase is bound to a disposition: the superior person, seeing what is good, emulates it, and sheds the faults they discover in themselves — so they increase from within.
What does Hexagram 42 mean for my life?✦
You recognize what others need, often before they voice it themselves — and you give without long deliberation. In projects you carry people along, because your commitment has a contagious effect: where you invest, something grows, be it a team, an idea, or a friendship. Your decisions fall more boldly than most, because you look to the long-term gain for everyone, not just the quick advantage.
How are I Ching and Human Design connected?✦
Human Design builds directly on the I Ching: the 64 gates of the Human Design chart are identical to the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. The Gene Keys use the same 64 codes too. Birth Codex combines all three systems in one reading.