Yue Lao Oracle Lot 75 · Poor

則去偷香竊玉上用心，又不曾得甚。自從海棠開，想到如今。 You pour your mind into stealing fragrance and jade, yet you have not won a thing, ever since the crabapple bloomed, you have been dreaming till today.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 《西廂記》原作「則去那竊玉偷香上用心」.

Background: what the original says

The maid Hongniang scolds the scholar Zhang for neglecting his studies and thinking only of romance, with nothing to show for it, pining from the time the crabapple blossomed until now.

The Romance of the Western Chamber is a Yuan-dynasty play by Wang Shifu. At a temple, the young scholar Zhang falls for Cui Yingying, daughter of a late chief minister. When a rebel besieges the temple to seize her, her mother promises her to whoever can drive him off. Zhang's friend, the White Horse General, lifts the siege, but the mother goes back on her word. With the help of the maid Hongniang, Zhang courts Yingying with music and letters. She answers with a poem inviting him to meet by moonlight, yet when he climbs the garden wall she scolds him. He falls ill.

In Act Four of Part Three, Hongniang visits and teases him as the silliest lovesick man alive: his mind is not on his books, his dreams are all of flowers and willows, and every thought has gone into courtship without result, ever since the crabapple bloomed. Yet the "prescription" she carries from Yingying is really a poem inviting him to meet that night.

What it means

All your attention has gone into the chase with nothing to show for it, and your real responsibilities have slipped. It is time to bring your focus back.

Reminder: Take care of your own life first.

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 74; next: Lot 76.