manekami · blessing slip
Omen No. 20・癸未・Caution
Keep the lot the temple keeper drew for you as a card you can carry. May the traffic be with you.
The verse
The silkworm gnaws ten thousand leaves with single mind,A whole life spent to spin one cocoon's warmth alone;Scatter your hand at hundred crafts, all stay but skin-deep,One thread drawn through to the end—there the true is shown.
Reading
A lowly slip—walk with care. Though the silkworm feeds on a thousand leaves, its purpose stays fixed on one cocoon; its sources may be many, but its aim must not divide. Gather your hundred aims into one, and dig that single thing to its very depth. The gods point the way only; the outcome rests with you and Heaven.
A way to settle it
This lot is a reminder, not a verdict. Today, draw inward, tidy up, stop chasing — nothing bad is fated; you're only being told not to force it right now.
- Touch no new tool today; drill one skill you already have to the end.
- Drop three distractions and finish a single thing.
What settles is your mind, not the outcome — a ritual, nothing promised.
The temple keeper adds
A hard lot. Don't fear it — a hard lot is often the most honest friend; it only asks you to slow down.