Yue Lao Oracle Lot 14 · Excellent

誰謂荼苦？其甘如薺。宴爾新婚，如兄如弟。 Who says the bitter herb is bitter? To me it tastes as sweet as shepherd's purse, you feast with your new bride, close as brothers.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 流通本作「如史如弟」，依《詩經》改「如兄如弟」; 《詩經》原作「宴爾新昏」.

Background: what the original says

The original poem is the lament of a wife cast aside by her husband: who calls the bitter herb bitter, when next to her own pain it tastes sweet? Meanwhile he celebrates with his new wife, the two of them as close as brothers.

Gu Feng (Valley Wind), in the Airs of Bei section of the Book of Songs, is a long lament spoken by a wife who has been cast off. It opens with wind and rain in a valley as she pleads that husband and wife should be of one heart, slow to anger. Then she sets out from the house, while her husband sees her off no farther than the gate. Here she speaks the lines on the lot: who says the bitter sow-thistle is bitter? Beside what I feel it is sweet as shepherd's purse. You and your new bride are as close as brothers. She asks that no one touch her fish weir, then sighs that she cannot even keep her own place. Later stanzas recall how she kept the household going through poverty, and how he now treats her as an enemy. The phrase for newlyweds later became a standard wedding blessing, and the bitterness of the original was largely forgotten.

What it means

Read on the surface, it says that when you truly love someone, even hardship tastes sweet, and newlywed life is joyful. But the original is the song of an abandoned wife, a reminder that even in sweet times you should cherish the person beside you.

Reminder: Do not choose someone only by their credentials, and once you are together, keep cherishing them.

This is a plain reading of the words and their source. How it applies to your own question is best settled with the interpreter at the temple where you drew it.

How to ask Yue Lao for a lot

1. Yue Lao, the Old Man under the Moon, usually has a side shrine inside a larger temple, such as a City God temple or a Mazu temple. Follow the temple's route: pay respects to the main deity first, then go to Yue Lao.
2. Tell Yue Lao your name, birth date and address, describe where you are in love right now, and state the one question you want to ask (for example, "Will this relationship last?" or "When will I meet someone?").
3. 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 and cast again to confirm it. Many temples ask for three yeses in a row; if not, draw again.
4. Collect the slip with the matching number. Yue Lao lots are quotations from old books, so the meaning often depends on the original passage. If it is unclear, ask the temple's interpreter.

Ask about one thing at a time; the more specific the question, the easier the lot is to apply. Yue Lao lots are for love and marriage only; for other matters, use the temple's general fortune poems.

Common misunderstandings

Previous: Lot 13; next: Lot 15.