Good stars and bad stars in Vietnamese mind.

It is a traditional Vietnamese that stars can decide people’s fortune throughout the year, but some say that this practice is a waste of time and money.

It is not uncommon after Tet to hear questions like, “What star will shine on you this year,” or, “Have you gone to a pagoda for the ‘bad star’ relieving ceremony?” According to this belief, both “bad stars” and “good stars” can affect the luck of a person.

According to Eastern culture, each person’s fortune during any given year will, based on their age, be defined by one of the nine stars: La Hau, Tho Tu, Thuy Dieu, Thai Bach, Thai Duong, Van Han, Ke Do, Thai Am, or Moc Duc. Thai Bach is thought to bring bad luck to anyone it shines upon.

There is an old saying “Thai Bach bán sạch cửa nhà,” or, “If you get the Thai Bach, you will loose all your possessions.”. Besides, La Hau is considered a bad star for men and Ke Do bad for women. Meanwhile, Thai Duong is the best star that will bring good luck for those it shines on.

After Tet many people flock to pagodas and temples to see what star will shine on them for the year. Others study astrology books or search the internet to learn their fate. If they get a bad star for the year, many attend a ceremony to get rid of the bad luck, organised by a pagoda or temple.

Anyone who visits Phuc Khanh Pagoda on Tay Son Street, in Hanoi will be able to see the popularity of this custom. There are extremely long lines to register for the bad luck relieving ceremonies.

“This year I have the Thai Bach Star and my husband got the La Hau Star,” said Vu Phuong Nhan, a woman who lives on Lang Ha Street. “I was born in 1987 and my husband was born in 1985. This year we both have bad stars. That’s why we both registered here to relieve our bad luck.”

The situation was the same at other pagodas: Quan Su, Ha and Tran Quoc Pagodas. Temples too, such as Quan Thanh Temple on Thanh Nien Street provide these services.

At Quan Su Pagoda, a man cried happily after seeing that his star for the year was Thai Duong. “I am 32 years old this year, and will register for a ceremony to welcome the good star,” he exclaimed.

He added that all the members of his family take part in the ceremony every year. “We just want to put our minds to rest about the coming year,” he explained.

In Ho Chi Minh City, large pagodas such as Pho Quang and Xa Loi also receive thousands of people for these ceremonies.

Phuc Khanh Pagoda has arranged five tables for registration from people, at a fee of VND100,000. The pagoda held the ceremony for people with La Hau on January 8th of the lunar calendar.

Those who have been designated Thai Bach will have another on the 15th and Ke Do on 18th.

Quan Su Pagoda held the ceremonies on different days and charged VND 300,000 for each family.

The superior monk, Thich Thanh Quyet, of Phuc Khanh Pagoda, said that this relationship between stars and fortune has been documented in many books about Asian culture, and is a long-held belief. “Many Vietnamese people believe in this, and attend the ceremonies for piece of mind for the year,” he said.

But according to Vu Duc Huynh, a researcher of Eastern Culture, the universe has more than these stars. “People would do better to pay attention to their acts throughout the year if they want to have ‘good luck’. These rituals are just a waste of time and money.”