Yue Lao Oracle Lot 2 · Fair

落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色。 Sunset clouds drift beside a lone wild duck in flight, the autumn river and the endless sky share a single color.

The lot

Background: what the original says

The Tang poet Wang Bo wrote these famous lines at a banquet in the Pavilion of Prince Teng: evening clouds float alongside a solitary wild duck, and the autumn water merges with the sky into one expanse.

This couplet comes from Wang Bo's Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng. The pavilion stood in Hongzhou, today's Nanchang. By the usual account, in the autumn of 675 the governor held a Double Ninth banquet there, and Wang Bo, a young man travelling south to visit his father, a magistrate in Jiaozhi in present-day northern Vietnam, was among the guests. According to the Tang Zhiyan, a later book of anecdotes, the governor had asked his son-in-law to prepare a preface in advance and only pretended to invite others to write. Everyone declined except Wang Bo. Irritated, the governor had a clerk report each line, and when he heard the one about sunset clouds flying with a lone wild duck while autumn water and sky share one colour, he declared it genius. Not long afterwards Wang Bo fell into the sea on his journey and died of the shock. That single bird in a vast evening sky is the loneliness the lot draws on.

What it means

The scene is beautiful, but the bird flies alone. The right match has not arrived yet, and it is natural to feel lonely. Take good care of your own life for now and wait quietly for the right moment.

Reminder: When you feel lonely, do not rush to grab hold of just anyone.

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

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