Prayer text for the offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the full moon of the first lunar month (version "Cẩn tấu")
Dâng sao giải hạn (offering to the ruling star to ward off misfortune). The day of each star every month according to the lunar calendar; at the start of the year it is usually done together on the full moon of the first lunar month
- Used across Vietnam
- Folk practice
Culture and belief A record of custom.
What this prayer says
Prayer text for the star offering and giải hạn (rite to ward off misfortune) on the full moon of the first lunar month, paying homage to the ten directions of Heaven, the Buddhas of the ten directions, the tinh quân, Nam Tào, Bắc Đẩu and the Thiên quan of the year; the tín chủ (the person making the offering) states the star governing the fate for the year, presents offerings to ask for the removal of misfortune and for blessings, and prays for the family to be peaceful and long-lived and for misfortunes to dissolve. It is recited during the whole rite.
The prayer below is kept in Vietnamese, the language it is read aloud in during the rite.
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Showing the version used across Vietnam.
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How it differs from the common version
It states the age and address down to the village, commune, district, province; it specifies which star governs one's fate this year; it presents the offerings in Sino-Vietnamese wording (trai bàn tỉnh quả, minh y kim ngân, trà tửu, phù lưu) and mentions savory offerings (chicken meat, pork); it ends with "Cẩn tấu".
The common version: Prayer text for the rite to ward off misfortune of the Thái Dương star
Offerings and how the rite is done
Other texts for Dâng sao giải hạn (offering to the ruling star to ward off misfortune)
- Folk practicePrayer text for the rite to ward off misfortune of the Thái Dương star
- Folk practicePrayer text for the rite of offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the full moon of the first lunar month (version "Kính lạy... Cẩn cáo")
- Folk practicePrayer text for the offering to the stars to ward off misfortune on the occasion of the full moon of the first lunar month (version inviting the star lords)
- Folk practicePrayer for the rite to ward off misfortune at home, used for all the stars of the whole family
- Folk practiceTemplate of the sớ (petition) for the rite to ward off misfortune (in Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation)
- Folk practiceVăn khấn cúng sao Hội mùng 8 tháng Giêng (prayer text for the star worship gathering on the 8th day of the first lunar month)
More about Dâng sao giải hạn (offering to the ruling star to ward off misfortune)
Nhật Nguyệt articles on the rite, the custom and how to prepare.
The wording is kept exactly as published by the source. The dotted italic words are blanks for you to fill in.
Sources
- Lễ dâng sao giải hạn đầu năm vào ngày tết Nguyên tiêu (vankhan.vn)
Part of the open dataset Vietnamese offering prayers (văn cúng), licensed CC BY 4.0.
More prayer textsDeath anniversaries, Tết, the home, business, life-cycle rites and regional rites.Open