Yue Lao Oracle Lot 99 · Fair

必先苦其心志。 First it must trouble the heart and will.

The lot

Background: what the original says

Mencius says that when Heaven is about to give someone a great task, it first makes their heart and will suffer and wears out their body.

This passage from Mencius (Gaozi II) is the conclusion he draws from a string of examples. Shun began as a farmer. Fu Yue was found among labourers building earthen walls; Jiao Ge was dealing in fish and salt; Guan Zhong was raised up from captivity; Sunshu Ao came from the seashore; Baili Xi was found in the marketplace. All went on to carry the burden of government.

From this Mencius concludes: when Heaven is about to lay a great task on someone, it first makes his mind suffer and his sinews toil, lets his body go hungry and his life be empty, and thwarts his efforts, to toughen him and build abilities he lacked. A state with no upright ministers within and no rival without, he adds, will usually perish. We live through hardship and die in comfort.

The passage became one of the most quoted texts for getting through hard times. The lot takes only its opening clause, keeping the focus on the trial itself.

What it means

Good things are preceded by a test; the hardship you face now is shaping you.

Reminder: Get through this stretch, and you will come out more mature.

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 98; next: Lot 100.