Written in the stars
Thai politicians seek the help of fortune tellers to predict their future in these chaotic and turbulent times.
BANGKOK: A hand-drawn map of constellations and planetary orbits shows Thailand in the throes of a “gateway” year of change, says astrologer Pinyo Pongcharoen – one of a legion of fortune tellers sought out by politicians in chaotic and unpredictable times.
“The stars are all in place,” the president of Thailand’s International Astrological Association said.
“There will be a big change, a big confrontation, a big negotiation.”
His forecast might lack precision but it carries weight for Thais, who have long turned to fortune tellers for a hint of what lies in store for school, in business, love as well as in politics.
And politics is currently dominating conversations, following a series of dramatic events which have lit up the political landscape ahead of elections set for March 24.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday slapped down the unprecedented prime ministerial candidacy of his sister Princess Ubolratana, which brought the revered monarchy into front-line politics, as a “highly inappropriate” move.
She was proposed for premier by the Thai Raksa Chart party, aligned with the powerful Shinawatra clan and is now waiting to see if it will be censured for the bold, perhaps foolish, move.
The upheaval triggered rumours of a possible counter-coup to oust junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha, speculation he denies.
Pinyo – who has read the fortune of a former prime minister, though he declined to say who – refused to be drawn into unpicking what it all means, saying only that there will be a showdown between “liberal and conservative” forces. “It’s a fight between the people who have a new thinking and the people who keep the old way of thinking,” he said cryptically.
Thailand’s history is steeped in astrology, with every twist in the country’s volatile history of coups, protests and short-lived civilian governments informed by the stars, said Edoardo Siani, a cultural anthropologist of Thailand at Kyoto University.
It is common for Thais to discern meaning in everyday symbolism and they are conscious of auspicious dates, places and colours.
Politicians capitalise on this fluency, he added.
“It is about aligning the individual with the greater cosmos,” said Siani.
The stars are all in place. There will be a big change, a big confrontation, a big negotiation
Pinyo Pongcharoen