Yue Lao Oracle Lot 97 · Fair

歸楚，楚人不信；歸漢，漢人震恐。足下欲持是安歸乎？ Go over to Chu, and Chu will not trust you; go over to Han, and Han will fear you. So where, sir, do you mean to go with all this?

The lot

Background: what the original says

The strategist Kuai Tong warned the general Han Xin that if he joined Chu, its people would not trust him, and if he joined Han, its people would fear him, so where could he possibly turn?

Around 203 BC, with Chu and Han at a stalemate, Han Xin had conquered Qi for Han and become its king. After he refused an envoy from Xiang Yu of Chu, a persuader named Kuai Tong urged him to break with Liu Bang and divide the empire in three.

Kuai Tong began by reading his features: the face promised a marquisate, the back far more. He recalled friends turned enemies and ministers cast aside after victory. After listing Han Xin's victories, he put it bluntly: go over to Chu and they will not trust you; stay with Han and they will fear you. Where can you go?

Han Xin could not bring himself to betray Liu Bang, trusting his merit to protect him. Kuai Tong feigned madness and became a shaman. A few years later Empress Lü had Han Xin executed, and he died regretting that he had not listened. The lot borrows the line for a place where neither side is safe.

What it means

You are caught in the middle and pleasing neither side. Think clearly about where you truly belong.

Reminder: Do not try to keep a foot in two boats.

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 96; next: Lot 98.