Yue Lao Oracle Lot 71 · Fair to good

雖有絲麻，無棄菅蒯；雖有姬姜，無棄蕉萃。 Though you have silk and hemp, do not throw away the rough grass rope, though you have a noble beauty, do not cast off the worn and weary one.

The lot

Background: what the original says

The ode says that having silk and hemp is no reason to discard coarse grass cord, and having a highborn beauty is no reason to abandon the careworn partner from before.

In the winter of 582 BC, the Chu commander Zichong attacked the small state of Ju and besieged the town of Quqiu. Its walls were crumbling, and the defenders fled to the capital. Ju captured a Chu prince and killed him despite Chu's offer of an exchange. The capital's walls proved just as weak, and a third town fell too. Within twelve days Ju had lost three cities.

The Zuo Zhuan comments that trusting in remoteness and failing to prepare is the gravest fault, and guarding against the unforeseen the greatest good. It then quotes a poem: even if you have silk and hemp, do not throw away coarse grass fiber; even if you have noble ladies of the Ji and Jiang clans, do not cast off the careworn one, for everyone will one day need a substitute. These lines, missing from the received Book of Songs, survive only as a "lost poem." The Zuo Zhuan used them to argue for preparedness; the oracle keeps only the surface meaning.

What it means

Even when someone new and appealing comes along, do not lightly abandon the person from before; chasing the new and tiring of the old hurts people.

Reminder: Treat people with feeling and loyalty.

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 70; next: Lot 72.