Yue Lao Oracle Lot 95 · Good

螽斯羽，薨薨兮。宜爾子孫，繩繩兮。 Katydids on the wing, whirring, whirring; may your children and grandchildren, go on and on without end.

The lot

Background: what the original says

Swarms of katydids beat their wings together, an image used to wish a family many descendants and an unbroken line.

"Zhongsi" (The Locusts) is a short song from the "Odes of Zhounan" in the Book of Songs (Shijing). The zhongsi is a locust-like insect that breeds prolifically and swarms. Watching them take wing, the singer notes how many there are, then the whirring of their flight, then how they cluster, and each stanza closes with the same kind of wish: may your descendants flourish like this.

There are no characters and no story; it is a song of blessing. The traditional Mao preface says it praises a queen who had many children because she was free of jealousy. That was how Han-dynasty scholars read it; modern readers mostly take it as a general wish for many offspring.

In the "Zhounan" sequence it sits just before "Taoyao," the famous song of a bride going to her new home, among poems that circle around marriage and household. The lot keeps it as a wish for a family that continues and grows.

What it means

This is a blessing for a thriving household full of children and grandchildren.

Reminder: Talk through family plans together as a couple.

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 94; next: Lot 96.