益 → 觀
Hexagram 42: Increase → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 1 changing line (line 1).
Line 1
初九 利用為大作。元吉无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: It furthers one to accomplish great deeds. Supreme good fortune. No blame.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
鵠思其雄，欲隨鳳東。順理羽翼，出次須日。中留北邑，復反其室。
Moonlight fills the empty chamber, shadows fall across two pillows. A lone crane stands still — the water is cold, it will not fly.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind and thunder bestow increase, but the transformation leads to wind sweeping over the earth — the distant gaze of Contemplation. This is a rewritten verse; the original reads: 'The swan goose longs for its mate, wishing to follow the phoenix eastward. It grooms its wings and feathers, sets out at the appointed day, yet lingers in the northern town and returns to its chamber.' A bird prepares for a journey of reunion but cannot complete it, held back at the midpoint. The longing is real, the preparation sincere, yet something — duty, circumstance, propriety — prevents the departure from reaching its destination. From Increase to Contemplation, the wind moves across the earth but observes from above rather than engaging. The increased desire to connect is tempered by the contemplative recognition that the time has not yet come.
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