Astrology in Thailand: the future and recollection of the past

Abstract

This is a study of astrology in Bangkok, based on fieldwork in 1982-3 and a short return visit in August-October 1984. The research was based on the activities of two astrological associations, and incorporated information from formal and informal interviews with a range of practising astrologers and other fortunetellers about their role in contemporary Bangkok society. Other research activities included observations of fortune-telling consultations and discussions with clients. The aim of the research was to discover what the modern role of astrology is in Bangkok, and to attempt to assess what was happening to this aspect of Thai belief under modern urban conditions. It was also an exploration of the relationship of astrology to other elements of the Thai world-view, since this has not previously been the subject of investigation; and further included an examination of the Thai astrological view of the past, since history was found to be a prominent interest of astrologers. The argument of this thesis is also about time, since I suggest that Thai astrology is basically a system of interpretation of the meanings discoverable in temporal experience. Some portion of the thesis is therefore devoted to the analysis of the temporal experience underlying Thai astrology both as a system and in the way that astrology is dependent on temporal context for its very practice. It is suggested that the use made of astrology in Thailand shows that qualitative views of temporal experience are not incompatible with linear concepts of time. In this thesis it is argued that Thai astrology has continued among some groups in Thai society as an intrinsic aspect of a world view concerned with auspiciousness, power and legitimacy. This is an inheritance from Thai astrology's elite background, at least in the sophisticated level of astrology investigated here. The fact that Thai astrology is eagerly supported by some in Thai society while as keenly refuted by others is discussed to show that the opposition to astrology in Bangkok is not just a repetition of the kinds of arguments concerning credibility and determinism which has been found in the West, but rather a debate with distinctively Thai concerns about the adequacy of religious explanation in Buddhism and about the development of a rationalised and democratic society. It is therefore suggested that astrology in Thailand has become involved in deeper political and philosophical conflicts which are of ongoing social and political significance in contemporary Bangkok, and that this is an important factor in understanding the present role of astrology in Bangkok. Show more