Yue Lao Oracle Lot 85 · Excellent, great fortune

得其所哉！得其所哉！ It has found its place! It has found its place!

The lot

Background: what the original says

Someone gave Zichan a live fish, and he had the pond keeper raise it in a pond. The keeper cooked and ate it, then reported that the fish had swum off at ease. Zichan believed him and said, "It has found where it belongs!" Mencius uses the story to show that a good person can be fooled by a plausible story.

His student Wan Zhang had asked Mencius about Xiang, who plotted again and again to kill his brother, the sage-king Shun, then came claiming he had missed him. Shun was glad to see him. Was he pretending?

Mencius answered with a tale about Zichan, the famous minister of Zheng. Someone gave Zichan a live fish, and he told the keeper of his pond to raise it there. The keeper cooked and ate it, then reported: "At first it seemed stiff, but soon it was swimming about, and off it went." Zichan exclaimed, "It has found its place! It has found its place!" Outside, the keeper laughed: I ate the fish, and he says it has found its place!

A gentleman, Mencius concluded, can be deceived by what seems reasonable, but not by what is plainly wrong. Xiang came as a loving brother, so Shun believed him. Zichan's words later came to mean simply finding where one belongs, the sense the lot keeps.

What it means

You have found where you belong, and everything is in its proper place. This match suits you well.

Reminder: Rest easy, and focus on building a good life together.

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 84; next: Lot 86.