Cast & Chart

Sacred throw

Shèng jiǎo. Yes.

How it falls. One block flat side up, one block round side up. Chance on any throw: 1 in 2.

A throw is a traditional way of reflecting on a question. It cannot decide health, money, law, marriage or children.

About this throw

A sacred throw is the result most people hope for. One block lands flat side up and the other lands round side up. On this page each block is equally likely to land either way, so a sacred throw comes up in half of all throws, more often than either of the other two results. Real carved blocks may not fall so evenly. In temple practice it is read as a yes, or as agreement with the question that was just asked.

A yes answers the question exactly as it was put. A broad or loaded question gets a broad answer, so it helps to ask one plain thing at a time, such as whether to take a particular next step. The throw is a prompt to reflect on the question, and it does not rule on it.

Customs differ on how many sacred throws are needed. Some people accept one. For an important matter, many ask for three in a row before they treat an answer as settled. In many places a sacred throw is also used to confirm a fortune stick. If you are in a temple, follow the custom of the place. This page counts a single throw.

Where this text comes from

The description of the blocks and of how each throw is read follows the accounts linked here, which mostly describe practice in Taiwan. Temples differ on the details noted in the text, and one of these sources names the laughing and yin patterns the other way round. The chances given are for the throw on this page. The wording is our own.

The Chinese names are the ones commonly used at temples. The English names and all of the wording are our own plain summary.