益 → 師
Hexagram 42: Increase → Hexagram 7: The Army
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 4 changing lines (lines 1, 2, 5, 6).
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.
Line 2
六二 或益之十朋之龜。弗克違。永貞吉。王用享于帝吉。
Six in the second place means: Someone does indeed increase him; Ten pairs of tortoises cannot oppose it. Constant perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents him before God. Good fortune.
Line 5
九五 有孚惠心。勿問元吉。有孚惠我德。
Nine in the fifth place means: If in truth you have a kind heart, ask not. Supreme good fortune. Truly, kindness will be recognized as your virtue.
Line 6
上九 莫益之。或擊之。立心勿恆。凶。
Nine at the top means: He brings increase to no one. Indeed, someone even strikes him. He does not keep his heart constantly steady. Misfortune.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
隴西冀北，多見駿馬。去如焱颺，害不能傷。
West of the ridges and north of Ji, fine warhorses abound. They vanish like windblown flame; no harm can touch them.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind and thunder bestow increase, and the transformation leads to water hidden within the earth — the disciplined reserve of the Army. In Longxi and Jizhong, fine warhorses abound. They gallop swift as rising flame, and no harm can touch them. These two regions — Longxi in the far west and Jizhong in the north — were famous throughout Han dynasty China as breeding grounds for the empire's finest cavalry mounts. The verse evokes military preparedness through superb resources: horses so swift they outrun any threat. From Increase to the Army, the transformation shows how abundance channeled into disciplined organization creates invincible force. The earth contains the water; the general contains the multitude. Speed and strength serve not chaos but commanded purpose.
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