Thailand’s fate is in the stars

As the head of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission, Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala is one of the country’s most powerful policy makers. But his true passion isn’t GDP growth or inflation rates. He’s co-author of an English-language book of prophecies called “Know Your Future,” which uses the Thai zodiac to predict, among other things, an al Qaeda terrorist attack in 2014 and an Obama reelection victory in 2012.

A major government figure dabbling in astrology would raise eyebrows in many countries (think former First Lady Nancy Reagan ). But in Thailand, where ghosts are real and no important decision is made without consulting a fortune teller, Thirachai’s interest is commonplace. “Astrology is very prevalent in Thai life. It’s almost a given, and politicians are no exception,” he said in the SEC’s offices in a high-rise in the city’s embassy district, with the soaring skyline visible behind him.

As Thailand gears up for a contentious national election on July 3, pitting groups loyal to the monarchy and the military against supporters of populist former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s booming astrology industry has never been more prominent. With the election expected to further inflame already deep political and societal tensions, and Thailand’s dizzying economic development creating complex social problems , Thais are turning to fortunetellers for answers and comfort. Meanwhile, politicians at the highest level, eager to gain an advantage over their rivals, employ personal fortune tellers to give them strategic advice.

In a 2008 study, the Kasikorn Research Center estimated that Bangkok residents spent 2.5 billion Thai baht (about $81 million dollars) on fortune telling services, and that nearly 40% of the capital’s residents bought books or magazines to study the subject. The Bangkok-based International Astrology Association, one of several such groups here, counts more than 50,000 members, and its classes on topics such as palmistry and face reading are regularly full.

Narongrat Phootirattaya, a teacher at the association, said he had seen an explosion of interest among young people in recent years. “They have a lot of problems now, and they need astrologers to help them solve these problems. In Thailand, people don’t go to a psychologist. They go to an astrologer,” he said.

Fortune telling is popular in many other parts of Asia, as well. In interviews here, many said it helped people make sense of the world or solve their problems. Others said it’s a bridge to the past and part of Thai identity.

Technology has driven much of the industry’s expansion. A generation ago, fortune tellers set up shop in ramshackle storefront parlors, where they gave face-to-face readings one customer at a time. Today, the most prominent ones preside over far-reaching media empires, starring in TV shows and running websites. Quite a few have become famous and wealthy.

One of the biggest is Hutta Lekajit, a 41-year-old former monk who is the marquee attraction of The Miracle Channel, a satellite station devoted to the supernatural. On a recent evening, Hutta, wearing a pink pinstripe shirt and white leather loafers, welcomed some guests to his office at a media complex on the outskirts of Bangkok.

With its mismatched vinyl chairs and desks strewn with computer equipment , the office could have been the home of a tech startup. As half a dozen editors cut and spliced footage of the show in cramped cubicles, Hutta picked through stacks of fan mail and discussed his twice-weekly show, in which mostly poor Thais go on air to tell him about their problems.

“People come on my show if bad things are happening to them, like divorces or debt. They get very emotional when they talk about these things. But I help them solve their problems,” said Hutta, who smiles frequently and has a baby face that makes him look 10 years younger than he is.

Hutta said “Hutta Kit” attracts a million viewers a week and is the fourth-rated cable program in Thailand. Strangers regularly recognize him on the street, and he makes what he calls a “comfortable” living. It’s a far cry from his life as a monk 20 years ago in an austere cave temple, where he learned to meditate and hone what he calls his unique power, the ability to see the future while staring into the flame of a burning candle.

While Hutta’s working methods are decidedly low-fi, he has embraced the power – and limitless reach – of modern communications tools. Viewers can watch his show through satellite, local cable or the internet. He also has a popular Facebook page and uses text-messaging to reach Thais in rural provinces with poor internet coverage. “ The technology is great because I can help poor people who couldn’t otherwise afford a reading,” he said.

As media-savvy seers like Hutta become nearly ubiquitous, Thailand’s political astrologers continue to work as they always have, under the radar and in the confidence of powerful benefactors. Thai kings kept official court astrologers for centuries, and the tradition has survived into the present day, with prime ministers and generals employing personal fortune tellers to determine auspicious dates for elections or coups.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin was a known devotee of the supernatural. When his substantial popular support began to wane in advance of the coup that deposed him in 2006, he enlisted the help of astrologers to turn the tide. In one notable example, one of his advisors took him on a tour of 99 temples in the country’s spiritually rich northeast in a bid to increase his metaphysical power, according to Thailand experts Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker.

These astrologers have likely been busy in the run-up to the July 3 election, Baker wrote in an email. But that does not mean that Thai politicians have discarded reason in favor of the mystical. “Astrology is just one means to get some advantage,” he wrote.

Samrit Klaoklieng is a man the political class regularly calls on in search of such advantage. He counts three of the country’s former prime ministers, including Thaksin, as past clients. In the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel, located near Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection, where 91 people died during anti-government protests last year, Samrit sipped espresso and discussed the difficulties of predicting the outcome of the vote.

“It’s nearly impossible to know, because I would need the birth times of all of the candidates,” he said. Still, he’s been busy dispensing advice and readings to his political clients, who want to know, above all else, whether they’ll receive enough votes to be part of the country’s new government. For Samrit, though, the real mystery is who his next big client will be. “I’ve been the personal astrologer to three prime ministers,” he said. “What I want to know is, who will be the fourth?”