Offering stars for fate alleviation, good stars, bad stars… is based on beliefs that lack scientific foundation, merely embodying spiritual concepts but significantly affecting the mindset and lives of many individuals.
How is the calculation of good and bad stars determined?
According to many beliefs, each year, every individual is under the influence of a different star constellation. There are 9 star constellations (Cửu Diệu), which include auspicious stars such as Thủy Diệu, Thái Âm, Thái Dương, Mộc Đức, and inauspicious stars like La Hầu, Kế Đô, Thái Bạch, Thổ Tú, and Vân Hớn.
For each person, the year in which they are influenced by a good star brings numerous fortunes such as financial success, academic achievements, promotions, and prosperity; conversely, being under a bad star leads to misfortunes like business failures, illnesses, or troubles in love… The cycle occurs every 9 years, with each constellation influencing an individual once. Therefore, if one encounters a year influenced by a bad star, it is essential to perform a ceremony at the beginning of the year to offer stars for fate alleviation, hoping to mitigate bad events and risks.
Offering stars for fate alleviation is a belief with no scientific basis.
Researcher Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn, President of the Vietnam Astronomy and Cosmology Association, asserts: The celestial bodies in the sky are actually very far from us and are physical entities that scientists have clearly identified today. Thus, we cannot attribute to celestial bodies the function of “influencing” humans. Everything that happens to us has a clear origin from subjective factors (our decisions) and objective factors (external influences such as nature and society) and not from the stars.
In the past, before interacting with Western culture, Eastern people had their own conventions for constellations and categorized them based on their position in the sky into distinct areas such as Tam Viên (including Tử Vi, Thái Vi, Thiên Thị) or Nhị Thập Bát Tú,…
Initially, the establishment of constellations was not intended for the purpose of predicting the future or fate. However, once the constellations were established, meanings related to human destiny gradually began to be assigned to them, and this is when astrology was born. The practice of offering stars for fate alleviation in the popular format today often relies on astrology, while Vietnamese people typically refer to Cửu Diệu, which originally comes from India before spreading to China and Vietnam.
These are celestial bodies that are not fixed like the stars in each constellation but move daily. The Cửu Diệu consists of 7 observable celestial bodies: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (the names in Cửu Diệu are Thái Dương, Thái Âm, Mộc Đức, Vân Hớn, Thổ Tú, Thủy Diệu, Thái Bạch). Additionally, there are two imaginary celestial bodies: La Hầu and Kế Đô.
If offering stars for fate alleviation is merely a belief that does not impact life, then it is not worth discussing. However, there are currently many people spending money to offer stars for fate alleviation, benefiting unscrupulous individuals without bringing any real benefits.
Mr. Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn cites the example of Venus, the second planet of the Solar System, referred to as Thái Bạch in the Eastern Cửu Diệu concept (which is a blend of cultural influences from China and India) – a purely cultural concept unrelated to anyone’s fate, especially since two of the celestial bodies in this classification are fabricated.
To date, it can be confirmed that there is no form of future or fate prediction that has a scientific basis. An event occurring to someone depends on numerous natural and social factors. The celestial bodies in the sky are indeed very far from us and are physical entities that scientists have clearly identified today.
For instance, Thái Bạch is actually Venus – the second planet of the Solar System. Even at its closest, this planet is still about 38 million km away from us. If there are influences from celestial bodies in the Solar System on our planet, it is due to the force of gravity, and this force affects the entire planet, not selectively impacting individuals based on their birth year while ignoring others.
Are La Hầu and Kế Đô bad stars?
Mr. Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn indicates that La Hầu and Kế Đô (originally from India as Rahu and Ketu) are two imaginary celestial bodies. In ancient times, people could not explain the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses, so they believed it was when these two celestial bodies appeared, causing the obscuration of the Sun or Moon. Today, we have hundreds of professional observatories both on Earth and in space, and we know they do not exist. This fact also suggests that these rituals lack foundation since if the celestial bodies do not exist, they cannot “influence” anyone.
Mr. Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn affirms that there is no evidence of interaction between distant celestial bodies like planets in the Solar System or even stars light-years away impacting human health or psychology. Physicists know that the only interaction that can transmit through interplanetary space is gravity. However, that force is so weak that planets cannot significantly affect each other’s orbits, let alone impact objects with such trivial mass as humans at that distance (because gravity is proportional to mass and inversely proportional to the square of the distance).
“In my opinion, belief is a part of culture in most countries around the world, and anyone can hold beliefs for themselves. However, pure belief is quite different from attaching unfounded, unconditional beliefs to real-life situations. If fate is predetermined, does that mean all our decisions and actions are meaningless? Everything that happens to us has a very clear origin from subjective factors (our decisions) and objective factors (external influences like nature and society – not from the stars). Therefore, although we often find it challenging to be certain about objective factors, we always have control over our subjective part,” stated Mr. Đặng Vũ Tuấn Sơn.
Dr. Vũ Thế Khanh, General Director of the Union of Scientific Associations UIA, noted that instead of passively offering stars for fate alleviation or seeking external forces, each individual should proactively use the method of “spiritual counteraction” to alleviate their own fate. By avoiding illegal activities, fraudulent transactions, storing or selling prohibited items, or engaging in deceptive practices, one can maintain peace throughout the year and avoid legal troubles.
Being cautious in speech, communication, practicing patience, avoiding the pursuit of fame and fortune, refraining from slander and defamation, and steering clear of deceit can help avoid disputes, lawsuits, and negative karma. By not initiating evil thoughts, not colluding with unprincipled individuals, one can avoid the Three Year Curse and evade “companion to calamity.” Maintaining a calm mind, practicing health-preserving techniques, cultivating compassion, generosity, and abstaining from killing can help avoid disasters and illnesses…
According to experts, instead of seeking fate alleviation or luck, we can dedicate time and resources to maintaining and improving our health, enhancing knowledge and skills, and setting plans for our own work – this is the most practical way to achieve a happy and successful life.
