Cast & Chart

Guan Di lot 96 of 100

Do not mind the wait

Good (上吉, 癸己). Grades differ between editions, and many Taiwanese temples print none. Shown as Wikisource gives it. Wikisource prints no stem pair for this lot, so 癸己 is from manekineko.com.tw.

婚姻子息莫嫌遲

但把精神仗佛持

四十年前須報應

功圓行滿育馨兒

Do not mind that marriage and children come late.

Only keep your spirit up and rely on the Buddha.

What you did forty years ago must be answered,

and when your practice is complete, you will raise a fine child.

What this lot says

This is a lot about family that comes later than expected. The verse says not to be discouraged and to keep your spirits up.

It also says past actions have consequences. Read it as a call to patience and to doing good in the meantime. It is an old blessing and not a forecast about marriage or children. If you are hoping for a child, a qualified doctor is the person to ask.

A lot is a prompt for reflection. It cannot promise a result, and it is no substitute for medical, legal or financial advice.

The story behind it

Shan Tao sees Wang Yan (山濤見王衍)

According to the account on Wikisource, Shan Tao of the Jin dynasty was one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove and, as an official, recommended talented people. When he saw the young Wang Yan, he exclaimed at what a fine child he was. Wang Yan rose to high office and was later killed by Shi Le.

Source: Wikisource, 關聖帝君靈籤/96, the 故事及記載 section

Where this text comes from

This verse is a traditional temple text with no known author. We read it from two named web transcriptions, Chinese Wikisource (the base text) and manekineko.com.tw. Neither is a scan of a printing, the edition behind them is mixed, and we could not establish whether the two are independent of each other.

Wikisource (關聖帝君靈籤) (the text shown above)

婚姻子息莫嫌遲 / 但把精神仗佛持 / 四十年前須報應 / 功圓行滿育馨兒

Retrieved 2026-11-09. Transcription licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

manekineko.com.tw (富貴轉運站)

婚姻子息莫嫌遲 / 但把精神仗佛持 / 四十年前須報應 / 功圓行滿育馨兒

Retrieved 2026-11-09

Where the sources differ

  • Line 1: a note in Wikisource's transcription gives 媳 for 息, apparently a variant reading.
  • Line 4: a note in Wikisource's transcription gives 有 for 育, apparently a variant reading.
  • Line 1: Wikisource's commentary says 子息 is written 仔細 in another copy, and rejects that reading.
  • Wikisource prints 悟 in Shan Tao's remark about Wang Yan, and the sentence looks corrupt, so we leave that remark out.

English translation, meaning and story summaries are by Cast & Chart.