Yue Lao Oracle Lot 77 · Good

摽有梅，其實七兮。求我庶士，迨其吉兮。 The plums are falling; seven in ten still hang. You gentlemen who seek me, come while the day is kind.

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 流通本作「標有梅」，依《詩經》改「摽」.

Background: what the original says

A young woman watches the plums drop from the tree, with seven tenths still left on the branches, and calls on her suitors to come while the time is still good.

"Plums Are Falling" is a short song from the Shao Nan section of the Book of Songs, in three stanzas. In the first, plums drop from the tree and seven in ten remain; in the second, three in ten; by the third, the fallen fruit is gathered in a shallow basket. The singer's words to her suitors grow more urgent in step: come on an auspicious day, then come today, and finally just say the word.

Falling plums as an image of passing youth is the poem's most memorable device. The Han-dynasty Mao Preface read it as a song of marrying at the proper time, a sign of King Wen of Zhou's good influence. The Song scholar Zhu Xi heard in it a virtuous young woman worried that she might miss her time to marry. Modern readers often take it simply as a woman's frank love song. The oracle quotes the first stanza, the most unhurried of the three.

What it means

The timing is right, and you should act on it early. If someone has feelings, now is the moment to speak up.

Reminder: Do not put it off; a good moment will not wait for you.

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 76; next: Lot 78.