In Myanmar, nat (spirits) are apparently keenly believed in and followed. Astrologers play a key role in life-planning (and politics too apparently, as one of the rumors as to the placing of the new capital Nay Pyi Taw is attributed to them) and numbers have great significance. The other day my colleague received a very long phone call in which apparently her father explained to her that the 15th was going to be a full moon, and that the combination of number plus moon meant that it would rain a lot. I felt that this was cheating somewhat as during the monsoon in Yangon, claiming that it is going to rain significantly is a fix.
Apparently, the number 9 is ‘auspicious’ which has a mystic significance and literally means “to seek protection from the Gods”.
It seems my birthday is not an auspicious one, as I am not able to manipulate any of the figures in to the value of 9: 1 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 8 + 2 = 30
I hope this doesn’t mean that I will suffer bad luck in my time here. My wife is much better off though: 2 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 9 + 8 + 2 = 27
She has a multiple of 9, so she just needs to find an event that corresponds to the number 3 (e.g. she likes to eat chocolate bars in multiples of 3, or she brushes her hair 3 times a day) and she is sorted.
In the Burmese New Year, I read the astrologer’s predictions for the coming Burmese Year 2054. I got “things have been a little slow for a while and you must work harder in the coming year to inject a bit of joy and vitality into your social life”. That was very good, considering that I had just arrived in a new country and didn’t know anybody, and spent most of time at home designing curtains, filling photo albums, and putting up picture frames. My wife’s was a lot more worrying though: “You personal relationship will be rosy up until July but decidedly hazy afterwards. Things rarely work out as we expect and romances, like milk, can turn sour overnight.” Our wedding day was on July 28th.
In the Burmese New Year, I read the astrologer’s predictions for the coming Burmese Year 2054. I got “things have been a little slow for a while and you must work harder in the coming year to inject a bit of joy and vitality into your social life”. That was very good, considering that I had just arrived in a new country and didn’t know anybody, and spent most of time at home designing curtains, filling photo albums, and putting up picture frames. My wife’s was a lot more worrying though: “You personal relationship will be rosy up until July but decidedly hazy afterwards. Things rarely work out as we expect and romances, like milk, can turn sour overnight.” Our wedding day was on July 28th.
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| Give me a 9 |
That's a lot of number on the wall he barely left no space. I would have to remove all my picture hangers if I am to believe that lucky numbers should be posted on the walls.
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