Upon rising, the king would immediately go to have a divination. Whether he asked about the weather, or military matters or hunting, the court diviner would take a burning stick and move it over the shell, which, when exposed to the heat, would crack into shapes that the diviner would interpret for the king.
每日清晨，太史、太卜準備好烏龜腹甲、碳爐，帝王醒來第一件事即前來問卜，所問之事，從天候、戰事、到獵獲，不論大小。卜官則以火棒對著龜甲燒著，龜甲遇熱後現出「卜」字般的紋路，據說此為「卜」字的來源。