# Drawing a Fortune Slip: How to Ask and Read It

> A complete guide to drawing a fortune slip online: casting the blocks first, reading a Mazu fortune poem, and the usual taboos. Free online slips at Tianyun Temple, any time.

Drawing a fortune slip is the most common way to ask a temple a question. Tianyun Temple put the whole process online: first cast the blocks to ask whether Mazu will grant a slip, then shake the cylinder and draw one. This guide shows you how to ask and how to read it.

## Three steps

1. In the main hall, bow to Mazu and state your name and what you want to ask.

2. Press "blocks" and say: "I would like to draw a slip; please grant me a sacred block." Continue only on a sacred block.

3. Press "slip", shake the cylinder, and draw one Mazu fortune slip. Read the poem.

## Reading the poem

Most slips are four seven-character lines. Start with the keywords: 遲, 緩 and 守 (late, slow, hold) usually advise waiting; 速, 行 and 進 (fast, go, advance) say you may act; 貴人 and 相助 (benefactor, assistance) mean someone will help. The grade — upper, middle, lower — is only the broad direction; the lines carry the detail. If it does not read clearly, the traditional move is to cast the blocks again to confirm.

## The rules

One slip per question: one a day for the same matter is enough, and re-drawing because you dislike the answer is the big taboo. A bad slip is not a reason to panic — most poems are telling you what to watch for, not pronouncing a result.

## What suits a fortune slip?

Whether to stay or leave a job, exam prospects, the direction of a relationship, the timing of a move — all common. For health, a slip is only a reference; if you feel unwell, see a doctor.

## Frequently asked questions

### What if I draw a very bad slip?

A low slip is a warning, not a sentence. Traditionally you can leave the slip at the temple rather than take it home, symbolically leaving the bad luck behind. Online, read it and set it down; the point is to understand the warning.

### How many slips can I draw in a day?

There is no technical limit, but the tradition is one slip per question. Ask too much and nothing is accurate.

### How many slips are in the Mazu set?

The common systems are the sixty-cycle set and the hundred-poem set, each with its own allusions. Tianyun Temple also prints a daily fortune in the Empress of Heaven Daily.

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Updated 2026-11-12 · Tianyun Temple 天雲宮 · https://tianyungong.com/en/guide/qiu-qian