Can you manipulate serendipity?

Tinder is the shady love doctor of the West. One swipe and a man can be in your arms in ten minutes. But he can leave just as fast after you guys have gone through all that cuddling and probably more, leaving an inexplicable void in your soul that you might have to later try to fill with a vibrator.

What if there is a solution to online dating and all the dodgy men out there? What if there is a higher power that can help you to find you the perfect man and immerse you in the "happily ever after" bubble of which you've always dreamed?

Recently, when I was having dinner with my high school classmates, they told me that they'd gotten love talismans from "the Marriage God." (月老）

Now, these two lovelies aren't really that bad looking--but we were getting to the age where we had to start thinking about marriages and all that crap. So the talismans were actually sort of like insurance, just in case we couldn't find any good guys in the long run.

But according to a blogger who's also visited the "Marriage God." Those who's got the talisman wouldn't have to wait that long for "the result," as the blogger herself only waited seven days before her "prince charming" showed up (they married after four months).

According to Gisele, the happily married blogger, there are many rituals to the worship of the marriage god at the temple she visited.

1. if you're single, you must offer the god dates (fruit) or candy.

2. the dates must be left at the temple and made into tea for other people to drink in the future

3. if you are seeing someone, bring flowers to worship

4. if it is your first worship, you must come back to thank the god.

5. if it's your first time coming to the temple, bring offering. if it is your second time, then it is ok if you don't bring anything.

And always remember, when you visit temple for GODS, you always light THREE incents for them (or incents of odd number--even numbers are for GHOSTS!)

The blogger also says that first timers always need to buy a small plastic packet of red envelop and red string. And if you are married, you can spend $600 NTD on 城隍夫人鞋 (Madam Chung Huang happy marriage shoe?) I didn't know how to translate that...

I have never heard of any woman named Madam Chung Huang, but the story of the

​Marriage God, or the Old Man Under the Moon, is a very popular folktale that has been around since the Tang Dynasty:

A young man named Wei Gu once saw an old man reading a book under a tree, so he went

and asked him what he was reading.

The old man answered, "it's a book that records all marriages in the world."

Wei Gu saw the bag of red strings next to the old man and then asked again, "what are those for?"

"These are so that I can tie the women and the men together by their ankles and make them husbands and wives--even if they had grudges against each other, when they are made together, they will be forever bonded and live in harmony together."

Wei Gu didn't believe a word of the old man's but he was still curious as to what this eccentric being may do. But before Wei Gu could utter another word, the old man had already gotten up and begun to walk away.

When the old man and Wei Gu arrive to Mi City, they happened upon a blind woman carrying a child about three years of age. When the old man saw the child, he turned to Wei Gu and said, "she will become your wife in the future."

Wei Gu was extremely displeased and ordered his servant to kill the child.

The servant went up to the child and took a stab and disappeared. The old man was also gone when Wei Gu turned to confront him about this situation.

Fourteen years later, Wei Gu was ready to marry a young and pretty woman. But she had a scar above her eyebrow.

Wei Gu panicked for a moment and then asked how the young woman had gotten the scar. And when the woman describe the attack from fourteen years ago initiated by Wei Gu himself, it was then that Wei Gu truly began to understand the powers of the old man that he had met from years ago.

The Old Man Under the Tree is a guarranteed path to happiness, all you have to do is trace very carefully along the lines. My friend told me that some are so willing to give this a shot that they are willing to stay hours in the temple just to get the ritual and the questions right. When you worship, you have to ask the God questions to get three approvals in a row--and it's usually not an easy task to get three approvals right away.

--you throw these pieces down the floor when you're finished asking the questions, if you get:

1. Approval--one piece is facing up and the other is facing down.

2. Disapproval--both pieces are facing downwards.

3. Disregard--the god does not understand your question.

Westerners can definitely try, too--just as long as your mind is in the right place. So would any of you try?

I think I would laugh and die a little inside every time I have to look at the Marrige God's statue and think of my prince charming.

**click on image to see original source**

#godofmarriage #marrage #temple #itworks #nottinder