Mazu Fortune Stick No. 37 · Lin Hexagram
骨肉緣何有異心，自因疾病苦相侵，勸汝改圖行孝悌，挽回造化莫因循。 Why are flesh and blood at odds with each other? Illness has come to trouble you as well. Change course: honor your parents and love your siblings; win back your fortune, and do not delay.
The poem
骨肉緣何有異心
Why are flesh and blood at odds with each other?
自因疾病苦相侵
Illness has come to trouble you as well.
勸汝改圖行孝悌
Change course: honor your parents and love your siblings;
挽回造化莫因循
win back your fortune, and do not delay.
| Lot | Hexagram |
|---|---|
| No. 37 第三十七首 | Lin 臨 (Approach) |
Text notes: line 2: the temple website reads 自囚疾病苦相侵.
Readings by topic
| Topic | Reading |
|---|---|
| Career & exams | No hope of success; renew your character 功名無望 自新其德 |
| Business | Divided mind; nothing gets done 三心兩意 一事不成 |
| Pregnancy | If you want children, be devoted to family 欲求子息 力行孝悌 |
| Marriage | Like ice and coals; not a match 如同冰炭 非是姻緣 |
| Travel | Hard going; repent and wishes come 行步艱難 悔過如願 |
| Household | Correct your heart; the family grows in time 正心修身 進丁有期 |
| Seeking wealth | Close to your siblings and you can have it 手足相親 亦可有之 |
| Luck of the times | What profit is due comes in modestly 財利應得 平平入手 |
| Lost items | Search hard and it will surely return 辛苦查覓 厥必可回 |
| Farming & livestock | Small gains from high fields; livestock fair 高田小利 六畜可收 |
| Lawsuits | Meet a patron and the dispute is settled 能遇貴人 即可訟解 |
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
Why is there friction in the family? Illness brings its own suffering too. Mend your ways and treat your family well; only that turns things around.
Reminder: Repair family relationships first and other things will improve.
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. 36; next: No. 38.
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. 37: questions
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 37 say?
「骨肉緣何有異心，自因疾病苦相侵，勸汝改圖行孝悌，挽回造化莫因循」 In English: Why are flesh and blood at odds with each other? Illness has come to trouble you as well. Change course: honor your parents and love your siblings; win back your fortune, and do not delay. It is paired with the Lin hexagram.
What does Mazu fortune stick No. 37 mean?
Why is there friction in the family? Illness brings its own suffering too. Mend your ways and treat your family well; only that turns things around. Reminder: Repair family relationships first and other things will improve.