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Hexagram 49 — Yi, Increase
Chronological no. 49 (binary-weight order) · King Wen no. (traditional) 42 · 益
By Anibal Edelberto Amiot — Updated October 1, 2026
the eldest daughter
the eldest son
Wind and Thunder: the image of increase. Two forces reinforce one another, wind amplifying thunder and thunder giving wind its full measure — a growth that feeds on encounter rather than isolation. Thus the noble one, seeing good, moves toward it; having a fault, he corrects it: true increase is never limited to accumulating, it consists in correcting oneself and growing together.
The energy of a fresh growth is released. What truly grows never does so alone: authentic growth releases an energy that benefits more than the one who carries it. This line teaches that true increase is recognized by what it shares, not by what it hoards.
The six lines
At the base of the earth, fullness stirs: the yang onset that carried the whole figure now yields its place.
The receptive earth reaches its fullness: the silent welcome that carried the lower figure is about to assert itself.
At the threshold between earth and man, suppleness gathers weight: what once yielded by nature is about to harden.
In the listening of man, the hollow fills: the openness that received is about to assert itself.
At the sage's seat, fullness hollows out: the force that governed the figure from its center is about to invert.
At the summit, fullness completes its course and breaks: what had culminated cannot go further without turning back.
Source: La Livrée d'Hermès, Anibal Amiot — chapter 7.1 (pp. 63–68). French version of this page.
For the notions used here — magic square, layer and casting, the Yi Jing — see the project lexicon.
The patterns of this hexagram
This hexagram is the binary complement of hexagram 14 — Heng, Duration (63 − 49 = 14): its patterns have exactly the same shape, only their colours are permuted. Here are the eight patterns of hexagram 14, one for each admissible family.
Bases — YANG mutant
Bases — YANG
Pair of two — YANG + YIN mutant
Pair of two — YIN mutant + YANG mutant
Pair of two — YIN + YANG
Pair of two — YIN + YANG mutant
Triple — without YANG
Triple — without YANG mutant
Neighbouring hexagrams
48 — Guan, Contemplation · 50 — Huan, Dispersion
Hexagrams sharing a trigram
Same upper trigram (☴ Xun): 48 — Guan, Contemplation · 50 — Huan, Dispersion · 51 — Zhong Fu, Inner Truth · 52 — Jian, Development · 53 — Jia Ren, The Family · 54 — Xun, The Gentle, Wind · 55 — Xiao Chu, The Taming Power of the Small
Same lower trigram (☳ Zhen): 1 — Fu, Return · 9 — Zhen, The Arousing · 17 — Zhun, Difficulty at the Beginning · 25 — Sui, Following · 33 — Yi, Nourishment · 41 — Shi He, Biting Through · 57 — Wu Wang, Innocence
