Hexagram 42.4 — Increase (Fourth Line)

Original Text & Translation

「中行告公从，利用为依迁国。」 — Walking the middle path, inform the prince and he will follow. Advantageous to serve as support in relocating the state.

The image is of a trusted advisor who maintains balance and communicates openly with leadership. "Middle path" means avoiding extremes — neither hoarding advantage nor recklessly distributing it. "Inform the prince" emphasizes transparency: when you share your insights and intentions clearly, those in power can align with your vision. The reference to "relocating the state" suggests major transitions that require coordination, trust, and structural support.

Core Meaning

Line four sits at the junction between the lower trigram (Thunder, movement) and the upper trigram (Wind, penetration). This position naturally creates a mediating role — you are close enough to leadership to influence decisions, yet grounded enough to understand practical realities. Increase at this line is not passive reception but active stewardship: you have been given resources, and now you must channel them wisely.

The counsel to "walk the middle path" protects against two common failures. The first is self-serving accumulation — using your position to enrich yourself at the expense of the collective. The second is naive generosity — distributing resources without strategy, structure, or sustainability. The middle path integrates both: you honor your own needs while prioritizing systemic benefit. You build capacity that outlasts immediate transactions.

The phrase "inform the prince and he will follow" reveals a profound truth about influence. Authority responds to clarity, not manipulation. When you present your case with transparency, data, and alignment to shared goals, leadership can move with confidence. This line rewards those who build trust through consistent, principled action rather than political maneuvering.

Symbolism & Imagery

The image of "relocating the state" is dramatic and instructive. In ancient times, moving a capital was a monumental undertaking — it required coordination across logistics, politics, culture, and infrastructure. The advisor who could "serve as support" in such a transition was invaluable: someone who could translate vision into process, who could hold the center while everything else shifted.

This symbolism applies to modern transitions: organizational restructuring, strategic pivots, mergers, major product launches, or personal life changes that affect many stakeholders. The fourth line of Increase asks you to be the stable axis around which change revolves. You are not the sole decision-maker, but you are the trusted voice that makes decisions implementable.

Wind over Thunder suggests that gentle, persistent influence (Wind) guides powerful movement (Thunder). Your role is not to dominate but to shape direction through clarity, repetition, and alignment. The middle path is not compromise for its own sake; it is the synthesis that honors all legitimate needs while advancing the collective mission.

Action Guidance

Career & Business

• Position yourself as a bridge: identify gaps between leadership vision and team execution. Offer to translate, coordinate, or pilot initiatives that connect both levels.
• Communicate upward with clarity: prepare concise, data-informed briefs for decision-makers. Frame recommendations in terms of shared objectives, risk mitigation, and measurable outcomes.
• Build coalitions, not fiefdoms: your influence grows when you enable others. Share credit, document processes, and create systems that distribute capability.
• Steward resources transparently: if you control budgets, timelines, or access, make allocation criteria explicit. Fairness and consistency build trust.
• Support major transitions: volunteer for cross-functional projects, change-management roles, or strategic initiatives. Your ability to hold the center during flux is your competitive advantage.
• Avoid hidden agendas: this line punishes opacity. If you have concerns or competing interests, surface them early. Integrity is your currency.

Love & Relationships

• Be the calm center: if your relationship is navigating change (moving, career shifts, family dynamics), offer stability through consistent communication and emotional regulation.
• Facilitate, don't dictate: help your partner articulate their needs and concerns. Create space for dialogue rather than imposing solutions.
• Align on shared goals: revisit your collective vision regularly. Ensure that individual actions serve mutual benefit, not just personal preference.
• Mediate with family or friends: if you're in a position to bridge conflicts or coordinate group decisions, do so with transparency and fairness. Avoid taking sides; hold the middle.
• Increase through service: small, consistent acts of support — logistical help, emotional presence, thoughtful gestures — compound into deep trust.

Health & Inner Work

• Balance effort and recovery: the middle path in health means honoring both challenge and rest. Avoid extremes of overtraining or neglect.
• Integrate modalities: combine movement, nutrition, sleep, and mental practices into a coherent system. No single intervention dominates; the whole supports the whole.
• Communicate with practitioners: if you work with coaches, therapists, or clinicians, share your observations and questions openly. Collaboration improves outcomes.
• Support others' journeys: if you have knowledge or experience, offer it generously. Teaching consolidates your own understanding and expands collective capacity.
• Navigate transitions mindfully: life changes (relocation, career shift, relationship evolution) stress the system. Maintain core routines as anchors during flux.

Finance & Strategy

• Allocate with intention: review your portfolio, budget, or resource distribution. Ensure alignment with long-term goals and risk tolerance. Avoid both hoarding and reckless deployment.
• Inform stakeholders: if you manage shared resources (family finances, partnership funds, organizational budgets), communicate decisions and rationale clearly. Transparency prevents conflict.
• Facilitate value creation: look for investments or initiatives that benefit multiple parties. Joint ventures, cooperative structures, and win-win deals align with this line's energy.
• Build infrastructure: increase is sustainable when supported by systems. Automate savings, document investment theses, establish review cadences.
• Advise, don't dominate: if you have financial expertise, offer it as service rather than control. Empower others to make informed decisions.
• Navigate transitions: if you're changing jobs, restructuring debt, or reallocating assets, plan meticulously and communicate with all affected parties. Your role is to make the transition smooth.

Timing, Signals, and Readiness

The fourth line of Increase often appears when you have accumulated enough capacity to influence larger systems, but before you have full authority. This is the zone of maximum leverage: you can shape outcomes without bearing sole responsibility. The timing is ripe for mediation, coordination, and transparent advocacy.

Watch for these signals that the moment is right: (1) leadership is open to input and actively seeking solutions; (2) you have credibility with both decision-makers and implementers; (3) the stakes are high enough that careful coordination matters; and (4) you feel aligned with the collective mission, not just personal gain. When these converge, step forward with clarity and integrity.

Conversely, if you sense hidden agendas, political gamesmanship, or misalignment between stated and actual goals, proceed cautiously. This line rewards transparency; opaque environments undermine its power. In such cases, focus on building trust and clarifying intentions before taking bold action.

When This Line Moves

A moving fourth line often signals a shift from mediation to implementation, from advisory to operational responsibility. The increase you have facilitated may now require you to take a more direct role in execution. Alternatively, it may indicate that your transparent communication has succeeded, and leadership is now aligned — the next phase involves consolidating gains and institutionalizing the change.

Depending on your divination method, the resultant hexagram will clarify the nature of this transition. Study the new hexagram to understand what qualities will be needed as you move from bridging to building, from informing to enacting. The key continuity is integrity: carry forward the transparency and balance that made your mediation effective.

Practical takeaway: as this line moves, document what worked. Capture the processes, communication patterns, and decision frameworks that enabled alignment. These become templates for future transitions and train others to hold the center as you have.

Concise Summary

Hexagram 42.4 is the line of the trusted mediator, the one who walks the middle path and informs authority with clarity. It asks you to channel increase toward collective benefit, to bridge inner and outer realms with transparency and balance. When you communicate openly, act with integrity, and support major transitions, you become the stable axis around which sustainable growth revolves. This is not passive reception but active stewardship — increase that serves the whole and endures beyond the moment.