Yue Lao Oracle Lot 30 · Fair

話別無長夜，相思又此春。瑤姬不可見，巫峽更何人？運石疑填海，乘槎欲問津。遙情每東注，誰共爾為鄰？ Our farewell came before the night grew long, and longing returns with this new spring, the goddess of the mountain cannot be seen, who else is left in the Wu Gorges now? Like hauling stones in hope of filling the sea, like riding a raft to ask the way to the Milky Way, my distant thoughts keep flowing east, who will stay by your side?

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): golla、zhanbu 本只有前六句，依《香屑集》與旗山天后宮本補足末兩句; 旗山本末兩句作「瑤情每未注」，依《香屑集》作「遙情每東注」; 杜甫原句作「乘槎與問津」，照錄流通本.

Background: what the original says

Built from lines by Xiang Si, Yu Xuanji, Li Qunyu, Yuan Zhen, Du Fu and others, the poem describes longing after a parting: the person you want to see is out of reach, and your feelings find no landing, like trying to fill the sea or asking for a ferry that never comes. Each line first meant something else; the raft line, for example, comes from a poem in which Du Fu grieves over Li Bai's exile.

This poem comes from the Fragrant Crumbs Collection (Xiangxie ji) by Huang Zhijuan, a Qing-dynasty scholar from Huating. Its eighteen volumes hold more than nine hundred poems of love and longing, every one assembled from lines by Tang-dynasty poets; even the preface is stitched together from Tang prose.

Each line is borrowed from a different Tang poem: Xiang Si seeing a friend off to the frontier, Yu Xuanji writing to a friend, Li Qunyu, Emperor Zhaozong, Yuan Zhen thanking friends for a night of go, Du Fu writing to the exiled Li Bai, Meng Haoran writing from his sickbed, and Chen Zi'ang parting from his brother at a river crossing. In Yuan Zhen's original, carrying stones to fill the sea describes a hard-fought game of go; in Du Fu's, the raft seeking the ford laments Li Bai's banishment. Rearranged by Huang, lines that once meant quite different things become one poem of longing for someone far away.

What it means

Your longing runs deep, but the other person feels impossibly far away, and your efforts show as little result as trying to fill the sea. Take stock of whether this relationship is worth waiting for.

Reminder: Do not keep a relationship alive on imagination alone.

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 29; next: Lot 31.