Mazu Fortune Stick No. 12 · Xun Hexagram
汝曹逐末泛重洋，順意遊行自主張，得利須知尋退步，免教失足悔難當。 You chase trade across the wide ocean, roaming where you please, your own master. Once you profit, know when to withdraw, lest one slip leaves regret too deep to bear.
The poem
汝曹逐末泛重洋
You chase trade across the wide ocean,
順意遊行自主張
roaming where you please, your own master.
得利須知尋退步
Once you profit, know when to withdraw,
免教失足悔難當
lest one slip leaves regret too deep to bear.
| Lot | Hexagram |
|---|---|
| No. 12 第十二首 | Xun 巽 (The Gentle Wind) |
Text notes: line 1: the temple website reads 汝曹逐流泛重洋; another version has 逐未; the sense calls for 逐末 ("pursuing trade").
Readings by topic
| Topic | Reading |
|---|---|
| Career & exams | At your high point, examine yourself again 得意之時 再重修省 |
| Business | Be content with your living; never be greedy 生涯知足 勿得無厭 |
| Pregnancy | Sons or daughters: rest quietly and seek calm 生男育女 靜養求安 |
| Marriage | Getting Long and wanting Shu: greed breeds disaster 得隴望蜀 自取禍胎 |
| Travel | Take your profit home; step back while ahead 得利回鄉 急流勇退 |
| Household | Fortune at the door; know your place 福德臨門 守己安分 |
| Seeking wealth | Profit in hand: step back when you see the money 利路到手 見財替步 |
| Luck of the times | Do not be greedy; wait for the right time 切莫貪婪 待時而舉 |
| Lost items | What is past is gone; be careful from now on 既往難追 未來須慎 |
| Farming & livestock | An unlucky year; effort wasted 歲逢不順 空勞徒然 |
| Lawsuits | No patron; no way to turn it around 無有貴人 無能化吉 |
Readings follow the Grand Matsu Temple website; the English is our translation. The temple's list also has an "illness" reading; we leave it out. If you feel unwell, please see a doctor.
What it means
You sail off to trade and go as you please. When you have made money, know when to pull back, or one misstep will leave you with bitter regret.
Background: In old Chinese thought farming was the "root" and trade the "branches"; chasing the branches means going into business. "Getting Long and wanting Shu" is the proverb about taking one territory and at once coveting the next.
Reminder: Quit while you are ahead; do not chase the last bite.
This is a plain reading of the words. How it applies to your own question is best settled with the interpreter at the temple where you drew it.
How to draw a lot
- Light incense and tell Mazu your name, birth date and address, then state clearly the one matter you are asking about.
- Cast the moon blocks (jiaobei, two crescent-shaped wooden blocks) to ask whether you may draw. One face up and one face down means yes; then pull one stick from the cylinder.
- Cast the blocks again to confirm that this is your stick. Many temples ask for three yeses in a row; if not, put it back and draw again.
- Collect the poem with the matching number. Read the whole poem, then find the topic below that fits your question. If it is unclear, ask the temple's interpreter.
Ask about one thing at a time; the more specific the question, the easier the poem is to apply.
Common misunderstandings
A gloomy poem means the matter is doomed.
Most poems are reminders and directions. The same poem means different things for different questions, so look at the topic that matches yours.
You can keep drawing on the same question until you get a good poem.
By custom you ask once per matter. If you are still unsure, ask the temple's interpreter, or wait a while and ask again.
Previous: No. 11; next: No. 13.
A straight word: fortune poems are a matter of faith, and the meanings here are ours
The Chinese text, hexagram names and topic readings follow the Grand Matsu Temple of Tainan, checked line by line against three other sources; we only corrected obvious copying errors, and every page shows the temple's original wording wherever we changed it. The English translations and the plain-English meanings are our own reading of the words, not the temple's official interpretation. For a real reading, ask at the temple where you drew the lot. For legal, medical or financial questions, see a professional, and if you feel unwell, see a doctor. Everything on this site is for reference and entertainment.
Beyond the poem: your own chart
Enter your birth date to cast a free BaZi Four Pillars chart and see your Five Elements and Ten Gods.
Mazu fortune stick No. 12: questions
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 12 say?
「汝曹逐末泛重洋，順意遊行自主張，得利須知尋退步，免教失足悔難當」 In English: You chase trade across the wide ocean, roaming where you please, your own master. Once you profit, know when to withdraw, lest one slip leaves regret too deep to bear. It is paired with the Xun hexagram.
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 12 mean?
You sail off to trade and go as you please. When you have made money, know when to pull back, or one misstep will leave you with bitter regret. Reminder: Quit while you are ahead; do not chase the last bite.