Yue Lao Oracle Lot 92 · Fair

明明如月，何時可掇？ Bright as the moon, when can it be gathered?

The lot

Background: what the original says

Cao Cao compares the talented people he longs for to the bright moon in the sky and asks when he will ever be able to reach them.

"A Short Song" is an undated ballad by Cao Cao (155-220), the late-Han warlord and poet. The novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms has him chant it before the Battle of Red Cliffs, but that scene is the novelist's invention.

It opens over wine: life is short, like morning dew. Then Cao Cao borrows from the Book of Songs. A line usually read as a lover's longing, "Blue, blue is your collar, long, long my yearning," becomes his longing for talented men, and a feast song about honoured guests becomes his promise to welcome them. Next comes the lot's line: bright as the moon, when can it be plucked? It ends with the Duke of Zhou, who won all hearts by welcoming worthy men.

Cao Cao was writing about recruiting able men, but in the language of love poetry, and readers have often heard it as longing for a beloved. The lot reads it that way too.

What it means

The person you admire is wonderful but out of reach for now. You cannot close the gap yet, so you will need to wait.

Reminder: To draw closer, first narrow the distance between where you each stand.

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 91; next: Lot 93.