Yue Lao Oracle Lot 53 · Excellent

其所厚者薄，而其所薄者厚。 What deserves your care, you treat lightly, and what deserves little, you treat with care.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 《大學》此句下接「未之有也」.

Background: what the original says

The Great Learning observes that no one has ever succeeded by neglecting what matters most while lavishing attention on what matters least.

This sentence closes the opening "classic" section of the Great Learning (Daxue). The text begins by stating that the way of great learning lies in making bright virtue shine, loving the people and resting in the highest good. It then lays out a sequence from the inside out: investigating things, extending knowledge, sincere intentions, a right heart, self-cultivation, an ordered family, a governed state and a world at peace, each step the foundation of the next.

It sums up: from the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all take self-cultivation as the root. When the root is in disorder, the branches cannot be well ordered; and never has anyone treated lightly what deserved generous care, and generously what deserved light treatment, and still succeeded. Zhu Xi glossed the root as oneself and "what deserves generous care" as one's family. The whole passage is about knowing what comes first, and on a marriage slip it becomes a reminder about getting priorities in order.

What it means

Get your priorities straight. Treat the people you should cherish generously, and do not spend your heart in the wrong places.

Reminder: Save your time for the people who truly matter.

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 52; next: Lot 54.