Yue Lao Oracle Lot 6 · Very good

風弄竹聲，只道金佩響；月移花影，疑是玉人來。 The wind plays through the bamboo, and I take it for the chime of her jade pendants, the moon shifts the shadows of the flowers, and I think my beloved has come.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 《西廂記》原作「則道金珮響」，意思相同.

Background: what the original says

Late at night, the scholar Zhang Sheng waits in his study for Cui Yingying. When the wind rustles the bamboo he mistakes it for the sound of her jade ornaments, and when the flower shadows stir under the moon he thinks she has arrived.

The Romance of the Western Chamber (Xixiang Ji) is a Yuan-dynasty drama by Wang Shifu, adapted from Yuan Zhen's Tang story of Yingying. The young scholar Zhang Junrui, lodging at a Buddhist monastery, falls in love with Cui Yingying, a late chief minister's daughter staying there with her mother. The mother promises the match and then goes back on her word, and the maid Hongniang carries messages between the lovers. Yingying sends Zhang a poem inviting him to meet by moonlight, but when he climbs the wall to find her she scolds him in front of Hongniang, and he falls ill with longing. Only in the first scene of Act Four does she agree to come. Zhang waits alone in his study and sings that when the wind stirs the bamboo he takes it for her jade pendants, and when the moon moves the flower shadows he wonders if she has arrived, echoing a line from her earlier poem. Late that night Hongniang does bring Yingying to his door.

What it means

The one you long for is about to come, and your waiting is full of hope. Good news is not far off.

Reminder: Hope all you like, but do not read every rustle in the leaves as your answer.

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 5; next: Lot 7.