Household worship of the thần sao (star deities)

What is Household worship of the thần sao (star deities), and when is it held?

Worship of the star deities is the custom of parents keeping the star deities in the home when their children are often ill and a horoscope reading finds a harmful star in the parents' Tử (children) palace^[1]. Bùi Xuân Mỹ (2001) gives the example of Bạch hổ (White Tiger): when the parents' chart has that star in the Tử palace, they worship the Bạch hổ deity^[1].

Step by step

1. Set out the offerings for the star deities^[2].
2. The father or mother holds one incense stick, bows to the four directions, then turns towards the direction of the star offering^[2].
3. Recite the prayer^[1].

Why it is done this way

In the belief recorded by the book, a harmful star in the Tử palace of the parents' chart affects the children, so the parents worship the star deities to pray for the children's well-being^[1].

Preparing the prayer text

The prayer in the book opens by invoking Amitābha Buddha three times and bows to the nine directions of heaven, the ten directions of earth, the Buddhas and the Đương niên thiên quan (heavenly official of the year); the person praying gives name, age and address and names the star governing their fate and the misfortune of the year^[1]. The plea is addressed to Trung thiên tinh chủ Bắc cực Tử vi Đại đế (the Purple Star Emperor of the North Pole), asking long life for the parents, protection for the children and peace for the whole family^[1].