Yue Lao
Yue Lao is the old man under the moon who ties the feet of the couple destined for each other with a red silk cord and reads their names in his book; he enters literature in the Tang tale Dinghun dian (The Inn of the Fixed Match) in Li Fuyan's Xu Xuanguai Lu (c. 850).
The Tang tale fixes the marriage before the couple ever meet, which is a doctrine of fate rather than of romance, and the tradition's own account is that the bond precedes choice — the modern love-spell reading is a Western one. He is a literary figure from a ninth-century chuanqi collection who became a popular object of devotion, and he has no classical state cult or canonical scripture. The planetary, zodiac, tarot and sabbat correspondences are modern Western overlays; the tradition's own timing is the moon and the wedding calendar.
Correspondences
- Planetary Correspondence
- Venus
Offerings
- Offerings
- A red threadSweet wineFlowersIncenseA name written and offeredCandy for the matchmaker
Sacred timing
- Sacred Timing
Symbols and forms
- Alternate Names
- Yue Xia Lao RenThe Old Man under the MoonOld Man of the MoonYuelao
- Gender Expression
- Masculine
- Titles
- The Old Man under the MoonThe Matchmaker of DestiniesKeeper of the Book of Marriages
- Symbols
- The red threadThe book of marriagesThe moonThe staffThe sack of threads
Practice
- Invocation Approach
- ToneKind mischievous oldAddressYue LaoOld Man under the MoonMatchmaker of DestiniesRelationshipA young person asking an old man to read a page of a bookWarningThe book is written before you arrive and reading it aloud does not change itResonanceThe unmarried the wedding those who have waited a long time
- Modern Practice
The practice is the red thread: at his shrine a person states the kind of partner wanted, writes a name or a wish, leaves a red thread, and returns with thanks when the match is made. Offerings are sweet wine, flowers, incense and candy, and the request is for the right person rather than for any person.
Nature and meaning
- Domain
- MarriageMatchmakingThe red threadFateLoveWeddingsThe book of marriagesDestiny
- Mythology Summary
Yue Lao is the old man under the moon who ties the feet of the couple destined for each other with a red silk cord and reads their names in his book; he enters literature in the Tang tale Dinghun dian (The Inn of the Fixed Match) in Li Fuyan's Xu Xuanguai Lu (c. 850), where a young man is told that his future wife is a three-year-old child, tries to have her killed, and marries her years later with the scar of his blow to identify her. He is a literary figure rather than a classical god — there is no ancient temple in the canonical record — but he is now one of the most popular objects of devotion for the young and unmarried, with shrines in Hangzhou and at Longshan Temple in Taipei among many others.
- Related Deities
- AphroditeVenusJuno FebruataFreyja
Details
- Correspondences
- ColorsRedPinkWhiteSilverScentsJasmineRoseSandalwood whiteMetalsSilverGoldAnimalsMagpieMandarin duckButterfly
One of 3,120 entries in the Grimoire — the whole library, every cross-reference, is free to take. Take the whole thing Is it wrong somewhere?
Referenced by 0
Nothing in the library points at this entry yet.
More in Deities
The entries either side of this one in the same catalogue.
All of Deities →New entries, when they land
Occasional notes when a section of the grimoire is added or revised. No account, no tracking across sites, and one line to leave.