Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/531

 travel and good words from everybody, but in the first, fifth and ninth moons he will be censured or will lose money. In order to ward off these evils, one must cut out a disc of red paper on the fifteenth of the first moon, fasten it to a piece of wild cherry wood, stick it up on the roof and bow to the four points of the compass. This will save him from all anxiety. On the contrary, in the Fire Star year all will go wrong. One will be ill or will be censured. The house may burn down. In the third and ninth moons one is almost sure to be ill. In the fifth and tenth moons one of his sons or grandsons will lose money and must be on the lookout for robbers. He must not travel far nor must he engage a new servant. And yet there is safety for him if on the fifteenth of the first moon he will tear off the collar of his coat and burn it toward the south.

Another division of the book deals with the five elements, metal, wood, water, fire and earth. This form of divination is practised on the fifteenth of the first moon in order to find out whether luck will be good or bad during the year. The man takes in his hand five little discs of wood, each bearing one of the names of the elements on one side but blank on the other. Shaking them in his hand, he says : "Beneath the bright heavens I stand and pray, I who live in Whang-ha Province, town of Ha-ju, ward of Pu-yong, by name Kim Mun-suk. To the bright heavens I pray that I may truly be shown what will befall the present year, or good or ill." He then throws the discs upon the ground. The different combinations that result indicate, by reference to the book, what the fortune will be. If they are all blank but one, the fortune will be medium, unless that one be "water," in which case it means good luck. If all the characters turn up, it is an excellent omen. Water and wood make a good combination, because water floats wood. Fire and water are, rather unexpectedly, good, for they are so different that they do not interfere with each other. Metal and wood make a bad combination, because metal cuts wood. So on throughout the list, each combination telling the thrower what he may