Hexagram 42 · Line 2
Increase — 二九
Yi Increase · Er Jiu
The Line
Someone does indeed increase them. Ten pairs of tortoises cannot resist it. Lasting perseverance brings good fortune. The king presents them before God. Good fortune!
Interpretation
Real increase comes about when one creates in oneself the conditions for it: receptiveness and love of the good. Thereby what one strives for comes of itself with natural, lawful necessity. Where increase thus stands in accord with the highest world laws, it cannot be prevented by any constellation of accidents. Only, everything depends on one's not letting oneself be made frivolous by unexpected happiness, but on making it one's own through inner strength and constancy. Then one gains significance before God and humans and can accomplish something for the best of the world.