Yue Lao Oracle Lot 63 · Fair, steady

子規半夜猶啼血，不信東風喚不回。 At midnight the cuckoo still cries until it bleeds, refusing to believe the east wind cannot be called back.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 王令原句作「子規夜半猶啼血」.

Background: what the original says

In this Song dynasty poem, the cuckoo keeps crying deep into the night until its throat bleeds, refusing to believe it cannot call the spring wind back.

Wang Ling was a Northern Song poet who lost his parents young and grew up poor. His talent and independence impressed the statesman Wang Anshi, who even helped arrange his marriage, but Wang Ling died at about twenty-eight, leaving poems full of stubborn energy.

"Seeing Off Spring" is a four-line poem set in late spring. The last blossoms fall and open again, and swallows keep returning to the low eaves, as if spring were reluctant to leave. The second half turns to the cuckoo, a bird said to be the transformed spirit of an ancient king of Shu, crying until it coughs blood. Wang Ling uses it to voice a refusal to give in: still calling at midnight, it will not believe the east wind cannot be called back. The poem later entered a standard children's anthology. In a love oracle, the cuckoo calling all night after a departed spring becomes the image of someone trying to win back a relationship.

What it means

Your wish to win someone back is strong, but spring has already passed. Before you try hard to repair things, make sure the other person still wants to.

Reminder: Give it your best, but also know when it is time to stop.

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 62; next: Lot 64.