A source-first reading note for Hexagram 42, Yi (Increase), with a reference translation, trigram frame, and one reversible observation practice.
Reference translation
Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water. The Image says: Increase. The upper is diminished, the lower is increased; the joy of the people is without bound. What is above descends to what is below; thus the Way is greatly illumined. "It furthers one to undertake something": the central and correct bring blessing. "It furthers one to cross the great water": the way of wood is in motion. Increase moves and is gentle; daily it advances without limit. Heaven bestows, earth brings forth; their increase knows no boundary. In every way of increase, one moves together with the time.
See the original-text and authority layers in the complete catalog entry.
Context from the authority layer
Thunder and wind share the attribute of "responding to one another in resonance." The two reinforce each other: when thunder stirs, wind arises; as the thunderclap shakes the air, the wind follows. This is the first point. Second, Xun stands for wood, and the Shuogua says, "All things issue forth from Zhen." When spring thunder stirs, plants and trees come to life. Third, the more thunder shakes, the more urgent the wind becomes. Thus the Chengzhuan says, "When the wind is fierce, the thunder is swift; when the thunder is violent, the wind is furious—the two things reinforce each other." This is the natural principle of the Yi (Increase) hexagram.
Read the structure before the slogan
The lower trigram is 震 (雷), associated in the bundled corpus with 动; the upper trigram is 巽 (风), associated with 入. Read the lower trigram as the inner or starting field and the upper trigram as the outward field before turning the pattern into advice.
One accountable observation practice
Copy one concrete verb, condition, or image from the reference translation for Hexagram 42. Name one place where it is observable in the situation you are examining. Then choose one small step you can reverse and write the condition that would make you review it.
Common misread to avoid
Do not turn Increase into a personality label, a guaranteed event, or a verdict about another person. The translation and trigram frame are source layers to examine, not an instruction to surrender judgment.
Source boundary
The reference translation and context are drawn from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi authority layer. Yarrow keeps that layer separate from optional modern reflection. This page does not claim that Hexagram 42 was cast for your question.