Astrologers’ warning sends people flocking to temples
by Terry Fredrickson and Post reporters
Huge crowds such as these at Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram in Bangkok’s Samphanthawong district were seeking blessings and hoping to ward off bad luck – because the influence of Uranus was set to bring bad luck to the country, according according to astrologers. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
Astrological predictions that the planet Uranus’ movement would bring unexpected changes sent crowds of people flocking to make merit and pay their respects at the City Pillar Shrine and temples in Bangkok Sunday.
Astrology has many followers around the world, not just here in Thailand. There are many varieties, however, and for some, the planet Uranus is of special interest. The reason is that for part of the year it appears to move in one direction; then it stops and goes backwards (“retrograde motion”). Thus, for astrologers, Uranus is a planet that likes to shock us.
From Post reporters:
Crowds of people flocked to make merit and pay their respects at the City Pillar Shrine and temples in Bangkok Sunday seeking good fortune, and causing heavy traffic congestion in and around Sanam Luang.
The gathering followed astrological predictions that the planet Uranus’ movement would bring unexpected changes to the country.
Astrologers had cited Sunday as the day Uranus entered the Taurus zodiac sign for the first time in 84 years. Bangkok was established on April 21, 1782, with Taurus as the capital’s zodiac sign, according to astrologers.
They said the influence of Uranus’ transit would a cause a major change in the country and its occupants, no matter which zodiac sign they were born under.
This influence would last as long as seven years, they said.
Astrologers advised people to make merit and pay their respects at the City Pillar Shrine, which is regarded as “the pillar of triumph”, in order to avoid bad luck.
This prompted crowds to visit the shrine at Sanam Luang near the Grand Palace, causing heavy gridlock on Ratchadamnoen Road and adjoining roads.
Worshippers at Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram were hoping to seek blessings and ward off bad luck.
Several temples in Bangkok were also full of crowds seeking to make merit and seeking prosperity and protection from bad fortune.
Phra Prommangalacharn, assistant abbot of Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram in Bangkok’s Samphanthawong district, said the temple held a mass prayer session and invited well-known monks nationwide.
Here’s more on retrograde motion using Earth and Mars as examples. One key idea is “vantage point” – the location of where you are compared to what you are looking at. Thus astrology on Mars would be quite different from what it is here on Earth.
Click “play” to listen to Astrologers’ warning sends people flocking to temples.
[Bangkok Post]
From Khaosod English:
Prayers were offered and merit made across the country Sunday in a frantic effort by some to ward off any evil influence a planet 2.5 billion kilometers away may have on the nation.
As Uranus completes its 84-year journey around the sun, the ice giant arrived Sunday to a portion of the sky designated by Thai astrologers as the Aries zodiac – upon which Thailand’s collective fortune, or duang muang, is widely believed to rest upon.
An astrological phenomenon commanding far greater interest than the pending astronomical novelty of Wednesday’s solar eclipse, Uranus is causing widespread anxiety. That’s because the last time Uranus entered Aries 84 years ago marked the revolution that overthrew the absolute monarchy.
According to Thai astrological schools, Uranus is a harbinger of doom; the name of the planet itself is dao maruet ta yoo, or “Star of Death.”
“The shifting of the Star of Death doesn’t happen often,” Phra Phrom Mangalajarn, deputy abbot of Bangkok’s famed Wat Traimit told reporters last week. “The upcoming shift on March 6 will be the first in 84 years from the last time the Star of Death shifted itself in 1932, which was the year of the regime change.”
To appease the planet’s alleged demonic influence as it intruded into Aries, Wat Traimit and other major temples across the Kingdom held mass prayer sessions on Sunday.