Quick answerIn the early 20th century, on what occasions did Vietnamese people consult fortune tellers and choose auspicious days?
According to Phan Ke Binh in Vietnam phong tuc (1915), people chose auspicious days for marriage, ground-breaking, travel and starting a business; they read physiognomy to judge a person's character; and they called on spirits and practised spirit mediumship to ask about affairs, cure illness and find missing people. This is a description of practice, not a claim about whether it worked.
From the article “How early 20th century Vietnamese consulted fortune tellers, picked auspicious days, and practiced mediumship: rereading Phan Ke Binh, Diguet, and Nguyen Van Huyen”
Knowledge › Vietnam › Folk beliefTống ôn, tống gió is a Mekong Delta ritual that sends epidemics and misfortune away by river. It explores how Covid-19 changed these ceremonies.
Updated 28 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismBuddhist meditation covers both meditative concentration and the Zen school, arriving in Vietnam from the early Common Era and thriving under the Lý and Trần.
Updated 11 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Western › PsychologyA numerology test on 806 Nobel laureates found birth-number distribution no different from chance. Why does numerology still sound true to so many people?
Updated 27 Sept 2026
Knowledge › Vietnam › Folk beliefFolk belief is not science, but that does not make it worthless. The right way to read it is as cultural heritage, a symbolic language of community.
Updated 13 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Folk beliefThree early 20th century recorders found fortune telling, day selection and mediumship widespread in northern Vietnam, each seeing them differently.
Updated 28 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismThe Buddhist revival in Vietnam from the 1920s: three regional associations, their journals, and the books of Trần Trọng Kim and Phan Văn Hùm.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismLuy Lâu is seen as one of the earliest places Buddhism reached Giao Châu, linked with chùa Dâu, the Tứ Pháp cult and Mâu Tử's Lý hoặc luận.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismXinxin Ming and Zhengdao Ge are both foundational Chan verses, but they differ in author, date, wording and how they present the path.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismNhật Quang and Nguyệt Quang Bodhisattvas are the two attendants flanking Medicine Buddha, symbolizing the light of the Sun and Moon shining on all beings.
Updated 1 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismImpermanence, suffering and non-self are the three marks of the teaching: body, mind and world all change, are unsatisfactory and have no fixed self.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Tet and seasonal ritesThe Si La people in Lai Châu celebrate Tet early, timing it to the harvest and peach blossoms, with black pig rituals and double chung cakes.
Updated 6 Jul 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismThe five houses of Chinese Chan are Guiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yunmen and Fayan. They differ in how they guided students and where they spread.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Eastern › I ChingA comparison of the Fuxi and King Wen bagua arrangements, their origins, trigram positions, meanings, and uses in feng shui and the I Ching.
Updated 28 Aug 2026Traditional systems
Knowledge › Western › TarotPlacing The Sun beside The Moon contrasts the light and dark poles of the Major Arcana. What Waite wrote, how the pair is read today, and its limits.
Updated 1 Oct 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Vietnam › Historical figuresThe tale of Mỵ Châu and Trọng Thủy as recorded in Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư and Việt Nam sử lược, with the comments of the old historians on it.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismThe Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra are the two core Prajñāpāramitā texts of Chan: what they say, where they come from and why Chan prizes them.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional festivalsThe Yen Tu Festival honours Emperor-Buddha Tran Nhan Tong, founder of the Truc Lam Zen sect, with its rituals and spiritual meaning.
Updated 13 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional festivalsKin Pang Then is the early-spring rite of the White Thái, led by Then masters to thank the spirits and their disciples; it is held in Mường Lay, Điện Biên.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Folk beliefVietnam's 'tam linh' shifted from 20th-century dictionary meanings, and researchers now define 'spiritual tourism' through the post-Doi Moi religious market.
Updated 27 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Ethnic minority customsNào Pê Chầu, the Mông New Year, falls a month before Tết Nguyên Đán: sweeping the soot, the Xử Ka offering, the year-end meal and fetching new water.
Updated 12 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Ancestor worshipThe custom of offering a day early is called lễ tiên thường, with the main chính kỵ the next day. Its origin, distinctions and meaning.
Updated 11 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Western › TarotTarot began as a 15th-century Italian noble card game, only becoming an occult divination tool some 300 years later in France and England.
Updated 17 Jul 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional craftsPhuong Duc bronze casting village in Hue has a 400-year history, known for worship items and bells made through mold making and bronze pouring.
Updated 28 Aug 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Western › TarotThe World is card 21 in the Major Arcana, marking completion, wholeness and total achievement, with a reversed side of delay and lack of closure.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the symbolism and in-depth meaning of The Sun Tarot card: from the child, the wall, and sunflowers to its message of success, joy, and enlightenment.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the symbolism and in-depth meaning of The Emperor Tarot card: power, order, stability, and lessons in responsible leadership.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the symbolism and in-depth meaning of The Fool Tarot card: from number 0, the cliff, the white dog to messages of beginnings, faith, and freedom.
Updated 23 Jul 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the symbolism and in-depth meaning of The Empress Tarot card: from Rider-Waite imagery to layers of meaning in love, career, and spirituality.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotThe Lovers Tarot card: its 15th-century origins, Rider-Waite imagery of Adam and Eve, and upright and reversed meanings in love and career readings.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional festivalsThe Công Đồng Bắc Lệ Temple Festival in Tân Thành Commune, Lạng Sơn runs from the 18th to 20th of the 9th lunar month, with the palanquin bathing rite.
Updated 25 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the in-depth meaning of The Magician Tarot card: symbolism, psychological messages, and practical applications in readings.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional festivalsKathina, the Khmer Theravada robe offering after the three-month rain retreat, runs from the 16th of the ninth lunar month to the full moon of the tenth.
Updated 25 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the symbolism and in-depth meaning of The Tower card in Tarot: from the lightning-struck tower to the message of necessary collapse for rebuilding.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotAn in-depth look at The Hanged Man Tarot card: its symbolism, upright/reversed meanings, and practical applications in readings.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the meaning of The Fool in Tarot and the concept of the Fool's Journey, how the 22 Major Arcana cards narrate the stages of human growth and life.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional dressKhan Dong and Ao The were formal wear for Vietnamese men, reflecting elegance and propriety, now revived for Tet, weddings and ceremonies.
Updated 3 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Eastern › Feng shuiSha are the land forms and hills that surround an acupuncture point and shield its qi. This analysis covers their definition and classification.
Updated 29 Jul 2026Traditional systems
Knowledge › Eastern › PhysiognomyHow does science view face reading? From 19th-century criminal anthropology to modern psychology, plus the misconceptions to avoid.
Updated 13 Sept 2026Traditional systems
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the deep symbolism and meaning of The Hermit Tarot card: the lantern, the staff, solitude, and the inner quest for truth.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the deep meaning of The Hierophant Tarot card: its symbolism, upright and reversed meanings in love, career, and frequently asked questions.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotExplore the deep symbolism and meaning of The Chariot tarot card: upright and reversed meanings, hidden symbols, and practical applications in readings.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Western › TarotThe Devil card in Tarot is often misread as pure bad luck, yet it speaks of bondage, addiction and inner shadow. Its symbolism points toward self-liberation.
Updated 10 Sept 2026Modern system
Knowledge › Eastern › Vietnamese astrologyLearn what relief stars and fate-mitigating stars are in Vietnamese astrology, their origins, and their real limits from Buddhist and cultural perspectives.
Updated 1 Sept 2026Traditional systems
Knowledge › Eastern › BuddhismSun Moon Lamp Light Buddha is the last of twenty thousand Buddhas sharing one title in the Lotus Sutra's opening chapter.
Updated 16 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › Traditional festivalsVesak marks the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha, and its date differs between Theravada and Mahayana traditions. The bathing ritual symbolizes inner purification.
Updated 4 Sept 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismThe Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path are the foundation of Buddhism, analyzed through Pali scriptures, philosophy, and levels of practice.
Updated 11 Oct 2026Culture and belief
Knowledge › Eastern › Vietnamese astrologyA Buddhist and psychological analysis of bad luck in Vietnamese astrology, helping you understand without fear and take proactive control of your life.
Updated 21 Jul 2026Traditional systems
Knowledge › Vietnam › BuddhismThe Grand Memorial for Buddha Emperor Tran Nhan Tong's Parinirvana is held at Cung Truc Lam, Yen Tu and Ngoa Van Pagoda each year.
Updated 27 Sept 2026Culture and belief