Guanyin fortune stick
61
Middle stick
At sunset you recite poems, under the moon you sing.
You join in whatever the moment offers, laughing out loud.
When people gather like this, it is hard to stay hidden,
so everyone sings together the songs of couples joined like twined branches.
jadealmanac.com
Editions disagree on this lot. Two name Su Xiaomei testing her husband, one names Su Qin stabbing his thigh to stay awake over his books, and a second story in one edition tells of a lowly army cook who talked the Yan generals into freeing the captive King of Zhao. The Su Xiaomei tale suits the poem best. In a Ming story collected by Feng Menglong, Su Xiaomei, the brilliant younger sister of the Song poet Su Dongpo, set her new husband Qin Shaoyou three literary puzzles on their wedding night before he could enter the bridal chamber. He was stuck on the last couplet until Su Dongpo slipped him a hint. The sister is a figure of legend, not history. Poems at dusk, singing under the moon and a couple joined at the end: a happy middle lot that still leans on a helper.
Poems at sunset and songs under the moon describe evenings of leisure. Readers take the line as a sign of ease and good company in the present season.
Joining in whatever the moment offers and laughing aloud is the second picture. Traditionally it means taking part lightly, without expecting every gathering to lead somewhere serious.
When people meet like this it is hard to stay hidden. Temple readers say that a meeting you cannot avoid is coming, and it is better to step forward than to slip away.
Everyone sings the song of trees with twined branches, an old emblem of a loving couple. Readers apply it to marriage and partnership, and the lot's love verdict is success.
日落吟诗月下歌
逢场作戏笑呵呵
相逢会遇难藏隐
唱彩齐唱连理罗
Seven characters a line, as printed in the BW Monastery edition.
Sources for the story: https://www.51chouqian.com/guanyinlingqian/61.html (Su Xiaomei Tests Her Husband); https://www.nongli.com/item5/guanyin/61.html (Su Xiaomei, plus the cook who freed the King of Zhao); masterseanchan.com/guanyin-oracle/lot-61 (edition A: Su Qin Stabs His Thigh).
Optional: the temple way
At a temple the stick is not yours until two moon blocks agree: one flat side up and one round side up, a holy cup.
Stick 61, "Keeping the Old, Moving With Time", is a middle stick, a mixed stick, good with conditions. A fine companion at home, poems and songs, a heart full of gladness, and whatever luck or trouble is written for you.
Success; the poem ends in a song for couples.
Smooth, and trade goes well.
Holding to proven ways brings results; exams go well.
Draw another stick , or for a straight yes or no, throw the moon blocks
The verse follows the BW Monastery edition of the Guanyin set; the English rendering and reading are Jade Almanac's own. A drawn stick is a tradition and a prompt for reflection, not advice about health, money or the law.
