Mazu Fortune Stick No. 35 · Qian Hexagram
蓬窗草舍暫淹留，知命樂天休謾悲，竚看震雷驚曲竇，直教群蟄盡回頭。 For now you linger in a thatched hut by a reed window; know your fate, trust heaven, and do not grieve. Wait and watch: the thunder will shake the burrows, and every hibernating creature will stir and turn.
The poem
蓬窗草舍暫淹留
For now you linger in a thatched hut by a reed window;
知命樂天休謾悲
know your fate, trust heaven, and do not grieve.
竚看震雷驚曲竇
Wait and watch: the thunder will shake the burrows,
直教群蟄盡回頭
and every hibernating creature will stir and turn.
| Lot | Hexagram |
|---|---|
| No. 35 第三十五首 | Qian 謙 (Modesty) |
No. 35 in the Baishatun system
The hundred-poem set used at Baishatun Gongtian Temple, Ganghu Tianyuan Temple and some others has twelve different poems at numbers 25 to 36. In that system this number reads:
乘雲馭氣一神仙
An immortal riding the clouds and the winds
來到南方結善緣
comes south to form good bonds.
欲買金丹求不死
If you would buy the golden elixir of life,
須將牛犬戒為先
first give up eating beef and dog.
If you drew your lot at one of those temples, go by that temple's poem.
Readings by topic
| Topic | Reading |
|---|---|
| Career & exams | Stay in your humble home; your chance will come 且守芳舍 際會風雲 |
| Business | Treat trade as a favor to friends 如作交易 當作人情 |
| Pregnancy | Rest with an easy mind; dreams of a son 寬心靜養 熊熊可夢 |
| Marriage | Marriage is fated; do not force it 姻緣天定 不可強求 |
| Travel | Blocked for now; travel when spring comes 出門阻隔 逢春及時 |
| Household | Keep to your role; your future is your own 事依本份 自由前途 |
| Seeking wealth | Endure hard work and it will come 辛苦忍耐 必無自有 |
| Luck of the times | It comes in time; seeking will not hurry it 時時必得 求之不能 |
| Lost items | Hard right now; search more and it returns 目下甚難 多尋方回 |
| Farming & livestock | Little harvest; pray for protection 物產空之 多祈神佑 |
| Lawsuits | With a patron's help you can win 有貴人扶 方能勝之 |
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 are staying in a humble place for now. Accept your lot, stay cheerful and do not despair; when the spring thunder rolls, everything that was sleeping wakes.
Reminder: Stay steady during the low point; the turn will come like thunder.
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. 34; next: No. 36.
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. 35: questions
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 35 say?
「蓬窗草舍暫淹留，知命樂天休謾悲，竚看震雷驚曲竇，直教群蟄盡回頭」 In English: For now you linger in a thatched hut by a reed window; know your fate, trust heaven, and do not grieve. Wait and watch: the thunder will shake the burrows, and every hibernating creature will stir and turn. It is paired with the Qian hexagram.
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 35 mean?
You are staying in a humble place for now. Accept your lot, stay cheerful and do not despair; when the spring thunder rolls, everything that was sleeping wakes. Reminder: Stay steady during the low point; the turn will come like thunder.