Yue Lao Oracle Lot 7 · Good

斯是陋室，唯吾德馨。 This is a humble room, yet my virtue gives it fragrance.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 〈陋室銘〉原作「惟吾德馨」，惟、唯通用.

Background: what the original says

The poet says that although his dwelling is plain and shabby, it does not feel poor, because the character of the person living there lends it a sweet fragrance.

The Inscription on a Humble Dwelling (Loushi Ming) is usually attributed to the Tang writer Liu Yuxi. A mountain need not be high to be famous if an immortal lives there, it says, nor water deep to be sacred if a dragon dwells in it; this room is humble, but its owner's virtue gives it fragrance. Moss climbs the steps, learned friends come to talk, and there is time for a plain zither and a sutra, free of noisy music and paperwork. It ends by comparing the room to the thatched hut of Zhuge Liang and the pavilion of Yang Xiong, and borrows Confucius's remark that where a gentleman lives, nothing is humble. A popular story says Liu wrote it after a magistrate kept moving him into smaller lodgings during his exile to Hezhou, but no Tang source records it. Even the authorship is debated; one view credits the Tang official Cui Mian.

What it means

There is no need to feel inferior if your circumstances do not match others'. Cultivate your character and inner depth, and someone will notice what is good in you.

Reminder: Work on yourself first, and the right connection will follow.

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 6; next: Lot 8.