Remote Viewing

I was reminded in my sleep of how King Wen, jailed by the last Shang, Di Xin, arranged the ancient trigrams into the hexagrams of classical I-Ching to ascertain what had become of his kingdom far from his cell in the prison tower.

Di Xin, meanwhile, dug a pool big enough for canoes to circle about in and filled it with wine. On an island in the middle, he planted a tree whose branches were skewers for roast meats, drooping down above the jade-like booze (瓊漿玉液) so party boaters could grab snacks as they liked.

The meat tree is rooted in fact. Wen of Zhou existed, and is believed to have constructed the Oracle in his captivity. Did I get the idea that he consulted it for purposes of remote viewing from Borges, or did I just dream that detail on the shores of Lake Lagunita thirty years ago, and then again last night? It had the flavor of a dream dreamed twice.

Anyhow. Lacking yarrow stalks, I took three pennies and did my own casting this morning with a question fixed in my mind. Hexagram 57: Gentle Penetration. No comment.