The Bhutanese and the Himalayan people believe in the five properties, which shape our life. The five life forces are very critical and one must know this as it shows the nature and qualities of each family member in the given calendar year.
1. Amongst the five srok (སྲོག་) or life force is the most vital for both male and female. It represents the status of life strength. The life essence resides in the heart and it relates to our vitality. If one’s srok is negative or weak in the almanac, then there is danger of illness or accidents which can lead to death.
2. Lue (ལུས་) or body determines the general state of one’s health including good health and bad health. Health is important for human well being and if one’s lue or body score is negative or weak in a certain year, one may become ill or have health problems.
3. Wangthang (དབང་ཐང་) or charisma and esteem refer to our personal power and prestige. It influences our wealth, possessions, and also the ability to realize our goals. This is of special importance for female persons. If wangthang is low or negative, one will struggle to succeed in one’s projects and achieving one’s goals. One would be subjected to difficulties and trails of life.
4. Lungta (རླུང་རྟ་) generally rendered as wind horse, is linked to one's fortune and luck either at birth or for the year. It is our capacity to keep bad circumstances away. Lungta acts as coordinator and binder of all life forces. If one’s lungta is bad or weak, one will be unfortunate and unlucky. One’s repuation may be at stake it will be difficult to achieve anything. New projects such as starting a business will be unsuccessful.
5. Lah (བླ་) is linked to our mental and emotional stability. It is a protective force. Sometimes lah becomes disconnected and wonders from the body and needs to be brought back by performing rituals. Mischievous spirits can steal Lah usually. When this happens one becomes sick. If lah is low or negatibe, than there will be mental disorders. One’s mind will not be stable. In general, there will no peace of mind. When lah is bad we can face danger. When we enter house that contains unhappy spirits or ghosts we can sense their presence.
To find the status of these five properties of life, one an use the animal sign of one’s birth and consult the status in an annual almanac. It is complicated process to calculate on one’s own. Thus, it is easier to consult an almanac. In the almanac the five properties are presented with following scores for the specific year for each animal sign.
1. 000 means the best
2. 00 means very good
3. 0 means good
4. 0X means neutral
5. X means bad
6. XX means very bad.
By: Phub Dorji Wang
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