益 → 比
Hexagram 42: Increase → Hexagram 8: Holding Together
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 2 changing lines (lines 1, 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 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
白龍黑虎，起伏俱怒。蚩尤敗走，死於魯首。
White dragon and black tiger rise in shared fury. Chi You flees in defeat, slain at Lu Shou.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Wind and thunder bestow increase, and the transformation leads to water upon the earth — the gathering force of Holding Together. White Dragon and Black Tiger rise together in fury, cosmic forces unleashed in tandem. Chi You, the bronze-headed war god, flees in defeat and dies at Luzhou. According to tradition, the Yellow Emperor marshaled heavenly beasts and elemental spirits to defeat Chi You at the Battle of Zhuolu. The white dragon and black tiger evoke the celestial and terrestrial forces allied against the rebel deity. From Increase to Holding Together, the verse demonstrates that even overwhelming martial power must be held together by righteous alliance. The Yellow Emperor prevailed not through solitary might but through the coalescence of all loyal forces around a central mandate.
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