A Note on Casting the Dreamstones...

My description of the casting of the stones and the layout pictured may have given an inaccurate impression as to the exact method of casting the dreamstones. It is important that each draw from the dreamgourd be from a full set of 16 stones. Only in this way will each element of the casting be completely random. The illustration may have given the impression that the stones are laid out in the pattern shown as they are drawn. This is not correct. The illustration was “posed” following the casting of the stones. To cast the stones properly, take out the first stone. This is the lower trigram. Jot down on the dream page or in your notebook the stone that was cast. Then replace that stone in the dreamgourd. Now draw out a second stone. This is the upper trigram. Note it and then replace it as well. Each subsequent drawing (for determining the line state) requires the dreamgourd to be full before the next draw is made. After this procedure, I like to lay out the stones in the manner of the illustration and to spend time reflecting on the stones—particularly before launching into the work on the I Ching hexagram resulting from the cast.