Hexagram 42: Increase
Outer trigram (upper)
Tốn
Wind · Wood
Inner trigram (lower)
Chấn
Thunder · Wood
Judgment
益：利有攸往，利涉大川.
Translation
Increase: it is favorable to have somewhere to go, favorable to cross the great river.
Commentary
Above is Tốn, the wind; below is Chấn, thunder. Thunder and wind reinforce each other, each growing stronger for the other's presence. Line 1, yang, adds strength to line 4, yin — here it is the upper that gives up something so the lower may gain. This is a time favorable for action and for undertaking great work.
Line Readings
Line 1 (yang)
初九：利用為大作，元吉，无咎.
Translation
It is favorable to undertake great work — great good fortune, no blame.
Commentary
Line 1 is yang and correctly placed. Positioned low but strengthened by line 4 above, it is well suited to great undertakings — great good fortune.
Line 2 (yin)
六二：或益之十朋之龜，弗克違，永貞吉，王用享于帝，吉.
Translation
Someone offers a precious tortoise shell worth ten strings of cowries, which cannot be refused. Holding to what is right over the long term brings good fortune; the king uses it to make offering to the Supreme Ancestor — good fortune.
Commentary
Line 2 is yin, centered and correctly placed, and receives great increase — symbolized by the priceless tortoise shell. Its good fortune depends on holding steady over time, and its virtue is great enough that even a king would use it in the highest rites.
Line 3 (yin)
六三：益之用凶事，无咎，有孚中行，告公用圭.
Translation
Increase comes through hardship and danger — no blame, if one holds sincerely to the right path and reports upward to those above.
Commentary
Line 3 is neither centered nor correctly placed, but even amid difficulty it can avoid fault by staying sincere and keeping to the proper course, reporting honestly to its superiors.
Line 4 (yin)
六四：中行，告公從，利用為依遷國.
Translation
Walking the balanced middle path, one reports upward and is heeded — favorable even for an undertaking as major as moving the capital.
Commentary
Line 4 is yin and correctly placed, sitting between the two trigrams on a well-balanced course. Trusted by the ruler above, it can carry out major undertakings, even one as consequential as relocating the seat of the state.
Line 5 (yang)
九五：有孚，惠心，勿問，元吉，有孚，惠我德.
Translation
With sincerity and a caring heart, there is no need to ask — great good fortune. Sincerity brings the goodwill of others back to oneself.
Commentary
Line 5 is yang, centered and correctly placed, holding the position of honor. Its sincerity and benevolence draw people to it naturally, without any need to summon them — great good fortune.
Line 6 (yang)
上九：莫益之或擊之，立心勿恆，凶.
Translation
No one adds to it; instead, it is attacked. A heart that is not steady and constant — misfortune.
Commentary
The top line, yang, has reached the extreme of the hexagram: it wants to keep receiving, but no one gives anymore, and it even meets resistance. Constantly seeking to take without ever giving to others cannot last — this brings misfortune.