Marriage God vs. Ghost Temples

In my last entry, I'd posted about the Marriage God (月老) and a temple in Taiwan that claims to be so legit that it makes Cupid look like he's been taking a nap all this time.

Well, there were some details I'd neglected to mention in the previous article because it was getting too lengthy--I wanted it to be more like a table mat, not a table runner, if you catch my drift--so I thought I'd elaborate the details here:

1. if it is your first time at the 霞海城隍廟, then you will receive a candy from the reception. you need to save it and eat it after worship.

2. you need to buy two packets of red paper and strings. and keep one in your wallet for every time you come to worship in the future.

3. one bundle of paper money per person. if you have come with another friend, your friend has to buy one bundle as well

When you worship:

1. first pray to the skies, and tell the Highest God (天公) that you (state your name, date of birth, address) have come to worship at 霞海城隍廟, and that you hope that you can have the Highest God's blessings so that today's worship will have no obstacles.

2. then you bow three times but do not have to place incents into the incent bowl, just walk directly toward the temple of the Marriage God.

How to pray to the Marriage God:

1. state your name, address, date of birth

2. be clear in telling what you want in your ideal partner (eg. honest, not a cheater, hardworking, has time for me, broad shoulders...etc.)

3. if you are in a relationship, but you want your man to freaking hurry up and propose! you can ask that, too.

There are many other gods you have to pray to in order to finish your worship. And there is an order, too. But usually, the reception would be there to guide you and tell you what you should do. So do not be afraid.

So remember the friends I'd mentioned in the previous post? who also got the talismans from a temple like this? They were also contemplating on going to a "ghost temple" to wish for love! The strangest things people would do here in Taiwan! But apparently, if you ask a ghost for something, they would really give it to you. That would explain why Aladdin got game so fast.

I'm not going to tell you guys here how to worship a ghost, because I don't want to ruin your lives for you. But even if past stories have claimed that the Fox Fairy Temple in Taipei works like a miracle--Jolin Tsai's mom went and asked the Fox Fairy help, and that was how Jolin was able to find stability in her relationship with her current boyfriend--ghosts are still ghosts in the end.

There will be major issues if you are not careful with the temple you choose. The ghost might decide to follow you home and ruin your life.

For example, a woman thought she might go pay a visit to the Fox Fairy. She did at first become more popular with the opposite sex and make more money than before as a result. But in the end, everything came crashing down--boyfriend gone, job almost gone. Then one day, a customer who could see ghosts told her that she had a fox tail.

It turned out that the Fox Spirit had decided to mess with her life. And even though she tried very hard to get rid of it, the spirit just wouldn't let her be.

Now, who wouldn't want a fairy tale life? Who doesn't want a Genie by our side? But this is the real world, so we should really set our boundaries clean and let the spirits alone. I feel that even though it is amusing to see that the Marriage God is there to grant us happiness, I feel that it would be so much better if we actually put in a little effort and found our own life's companion.

**click on image to see original source**

#marriage #godofhappiness #foxspirit #majorissuesfoxspirit #jolintsai #stabilityinmarriage