Yue Lao Oracle Lot 76 · Good

忘足，履之適也；忘腰，帶之適也。 You forget your feet, when the shoes fit well; you forget your waist, when the belt sits right.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 《莊子》原作「忘要」，要即腰.

Background: what the original says

Zhuangzi observes that when a shoe fits, you stop noticing your foot, and when a belt fits, you stop noticing your waist. Real ease is the kind you do not have to think about.

The chapter "Mastering Life" in the Zhuangzi, about preserving one's true nature, collects stories of uncanny skill, such as the hunchback who catches cicadas with a pole and the woodworker who carves a bell stand that looks divinely made. These lines follow the story of Chui, a legendary artisan who drew circles freehand more truly than with compass and square. His fingers had become one with what he shaped, so he no longer calculated, and his spirit stayed whole and unfettered.

From this Zhuangzi reasons: you forget your feet when the shoes fit; you forget your waist when the belt fits; you forget right and wrong when the mind is at ease; and when you neither change within nor follow outside pressure, circumstances fit. To begin with what fits and never meet what does not, forgetting even the fit itself, is true ease. Zhuangzi was describing spiritual and practical mastery; the oracle borrows his most everyday image, the shoe and the belt.

What it means

The right relationship is comfortable enough that you do not have to try so hard. When being together feels natural, you are with the right person.

Reminder: When you are with this person, ask yourself whether you can truly relax.

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 75; next: Lot 77.