Yue Lao Oracle Lot 90 · Good

兩情若是長久時，又豈在朝朝暮暮。 If two hearts are meant to last, why must they be together every morning and every night?

The lot

Text notes (in Chinese): 秦觀原句作「兩情若是久長時」.

Background: what the original says

The poem describes the Herd Boy and the Weaver Girl meeting on the Double Seventh night: if love is true and lasting, there is no need to be side by side every day.

Qin Guan (1049-1100) was a Northern Song poet of Su Shi's circle, known for delicate, tender lyrics. "Immortals at the Magpie Bridge" is a Double Seventh song about the Herd-Boy and the Weaver Girl; when he wrote it is not known.

The first stanza is the meeting. Wisps of cloud weave clever patterns, shooting stars carry the lovers' grief, and the two slip across the far Milky Way. One meeting amid autumn wind and jade-white dew outshines countless meetings in the human world. The second stanza is the parting: tenderness flows like water, the reunion passes like a dream, and they cannot bear to look back. Then the famous close: if love is lasting, why must it be morning after morning, evening after evening?

Most Double Seventh poems dwell on the sorrow of separation. Qin Guan turned the ending around, and couples living apart still quote it to each other. The lot keeps it for a love not measured in days.

What it means

True feeling does not depend on seeing each other day and night. Being apart for a while will not hurt what you share.

Reminder: If you cannot see each other every day, put your heart into every call and message.

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 89; next: Lot 91.