Yue Lao Oracle Lot 88 · Fair

是非吾所謂情也。 That is not what I mean by feeling.

The lot

Background: what the original says

Huizi asked Zhuangzi whether people are truly without feelings. Zhuangzi replied that this was not the kind of feeling he meant: being without feelings, to him, meant not letting likes and dislikes do you harm.

The chapter of the Zhuangzi called "The Sign of Virtue Complete" is full of maimed or ugly people whom others seek out for their inner virtue. It ends with an exchange between Zhuangzi and his old sparring partner, the logician Hui Shi.

Hui Shi asks whether a person can really be without feelings. Zhuangzi says yes. Then how can he be called a person? The Way gave him a face and Heaven a body, Zhuangzi replies; why not? But if he is a person, Hui Shi presses, how can he lack feelings? Only then does Zhuangzi say: "That is not what I mean by feelings." To be without feelings, in his sense, is not to let likes and dislikes wound you from within, but to follow what is natural.

He ends by teasing his friend for wearing out his spirit arguing about "hard and white." The lot borrows the line to ask what the word "feeling" really means to the one who uses it.

What it means

This is not real love. Do not mistake a passing preference or impulse for the real thing.

Reminder: Sort out whether this is attraction, loneliness, or simply habit.

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 87; next: Lot 89.