King Wen's Hints Traditional Geocache

Most geocaches expect you to take an item (usually a knickknack like a keyring), leave an item of your own and leave an entry in the logbook.

This cache is different. It is an I Ching cache, whose original contents are 64 slips of paper, each bearing one of the hexagrams of the I Ching (the Chinese Book of Changes) and their brief interpretations.

How to use the cache

• Ask the I Ching a question. This should be a question that can be answered with a yes/no answer, such as 'Should I quit my job and become a sheep farmer in the Outer Hebrides?' – but don't expect the I Ching to answer with a 'yes' or a 'no'.
• Take one slip of paper at random from the box. Unfold it, read it, and think about how the answer might apply to your question. What you read will be so ambiguous and capable of so many possible personal interpretations that most of the answer comes from within yourself. Take this slip of paper home with you.
• Leave a slip of paper containing an answer of your own. (It's probably best if you prepare this before you leave home.) Your answer should be in the I Ching format, in that it should be an ambiguous answer to a yes/no question, but don't feel that you have to emulate the I Ching’s style of language. The idea is that the wisdom of the I Ching will eventually be replaced by the wisdom of the geocaching community, such as it is.

• If you're not familiar with the I Ching, have a look at one of the translations available on the web, for example at www.zhouyi.com.

Please don't leave normal geocache items in this cache: it should basically contain nothing but the 64 answer slips and the logbook. However, small travel bugs are welcome, as long as they don't squash the paper.

The cache is located on farmland near the Staffordshire village of Hints, just a few metres from a public right of way. This is a really lovely area for walking and cycling. I'd never been there before the day I placed the cache, but when I saw it on the map I knew I had to put a cache there, just because of the name and the way it looked on the map. I suggest you get OS Explorer map 232 and explore the area properly: make a day of it.