Yue Lao Oracle Lot 23 · Fair

只一點故情留，直似春蠶到老，尚把絲抽。 Only a trace of the old love remains, just like the spring silkworm that, even in old age, keeps drawing out its silk.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 《長生殿》原作「似春蠶到死，尚把絲抽」，照錄流通本.

Background: what the original says

After her death, the spirit of Yang Guifei speaks alone: their bond has drifted away like fallen petals on flowing water, leaving only a little of the old love, like a silkworm that keeps spinning silk until it dies.

The Palace of Eternal Youth (Changsheng dian), by the early Qing playwright Hong Sheng, retells the love of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and his consort Yang Guifei. Scene thirty-seven follows the mutiny at Mawei, where Yang was forced to die. Her ghost can drift with the wind, and she wants only to find the emperor, who has fled to Sichuan, and see him once more. She tries to fly west and is blown straight back to the shrine and pear tree where she died.

Sitting on the ground in tears, she sings this aria. Their bond has scattered like petals on a stream; only a trace of feeling remains, like a silkworm that keeps spinning until it dies. He grieves alone in his mountain lodging, she keeps watch in her grave, and the sorrow is the same on both sides. Soon the Weaving Maid arrives with a decree restoring her to the immortals. The lot borrows the aria for a feeling that outlasts the parting.

What it means

The old feelings are hard to cut off, and your heart still has not let go. You need to tell the difference between a real chance of getting back together and a longing that only you are still holding on to.

Reminder: When you cannot let go, find out how the other person feels, instead of only asking yourself.

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 22; next: Lot 24.