Yue Lao Oracle Lot 55 · Good

不思舊姻，求爾新特。 You care nothing for the bond we shared, and go seeking a new partner.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 流通本作「求爾新君」，依《詩經》改「新特」（特，配偶）.

Background: what the original says

In this poem a woman who married into a distant place laments that her husband, forgetting their old marriage, has gone looking for someone new.

"I Walk in the Countryside" (Wo xing qi ye), in the "Minor Odes" of the Book of Songs (Shijing), is spoken by a woman who has married into a distant place. Walking through open country past spreading ailanthus trees, gathering wild greens, she says: it was for marriage that I came to live with you; since you will not look after me, I am going home. The third stanza is blunter: you have forgotten our old marriage and gone after someone new, and, as it is usually read, not because she is richer, only because she is different.

The traditional Mao preface takes the poem as a criticism of the customs of King Xuan's reign, and later readers mostly hear a neglected wife preparing to return to her family. There is no pleading; she states her reasons and turns to go. The slip quotes the first two lines of the last stanza, letting someone who asks about an old love hear the other side of a marriage that has ended.

What it means

The common reading is "let go of the old love and welcome someone new," though the original poem is a complaint about a partner who tires of the old and chases the new. Either way, the message is the same: when old feelings have changed, do not force them.

Reminder: Be clear with yourself about whether it is time to let go or time to hold on.

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 54; next: Lot 56.