We’re currently half way the Ghost Month this year but it’s never too late to know more about this unlucky month according to the Chinese tradition. Also below are some tips of what you should and shouldn’t do this month.
It’s a Chinese tradition that usually falls during the seventh month of the traditional Chinese calendar and usually lands on the month of August. But it depends on the Chinese calendar since it changes every year. For 2014, it began last July 27, 2014 and is also known as the Ghost Gate.
It’s the month that’s unlucky as spirits who are not yet in Heaven or Hell wander on earth to come back to “eat” or “drink.” Chinese offers different things to the souls of the departed during this time and you’ll find out what you can offer as you continue reading below. It’s also quite similar to the Filipino’s All Souls Day and All Saints Day so perhaps some Filipino or Filipino-Chinese family practice this tradition. It is also practiced in Singapore and Malaysia.
A lot of calamities and tragedies happen during this month. Some may say it’s purely coincidental while others say it’s because of the Ghost Month. Whichever it may be, it’s best to be safe than be sorry.
Bad things happening usually during the Ghost Month:
- Plane crashes, car accidents, boat tragedies, etc. happen during this time of the year. This year Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash happened quite recently killing all it’s passenger. MH370 plane is missing and even though it happened earlier, Chinese tradition experts say it’s still tied with the recent plane crash.
- Suicides, murder, and homicide other related cause of death are higher compared to other months. Recently, sadly the famous comedian Robin Williams passed away and the ongoing investigation said it was suicide because of depression, money and relationship problems.
- Landslides, earthquakes, fires, typhoons, tornadoes etc. happen more around the world. Recently a strong earthquake in Yunnan, China killed 175 people.
Wars, conflicts and other violent events arise in different countries. Israel-Gaza conflict, Syria-Palestine conflict and other countries are attacking each other resulting to a lot of innocent people dying. 
- Illnesses or diseases that leads to death such as cancer, tuberculosis, heart attack, etc. The recent Ebola virus in Africa killed more than 1,000 people. It also affected people from the US and Spain.
Here are a couple of Do’s and Don’ts for Ghost Month to avoid any misfortunes in your life:
- Burn paper money, paper cars and paper houses in front of your houses or place them on top of an offering table which will serve as offering to the ghosts.
- Avoid going out at night when the ghosts roam around freely.
- Avoid going on long trips and taking the plane or a boat.
- Postpone any plans to get married.
- Postpone any major medical operation or surgery.
- If you’re moving to a new house, postpone having it blessed to next month. Best also to avoid moving out of your old house to a new abode. Ghosts may think you’re also welcoming them to the new place.
- Avoid mountain climbing this month.
- Don’t kill insects this month since they can be manifestations of spirits.
- Wear a Black Tourmaline if your third eye is open since this stone protects you from bad spirits and events. For Catholics, wear a St. Benjamin’s Cross or Medal which is a protection against evil.
- Wear bright colors (red, blue, yellow, etc.) instead of sad colors (white, black, brown, etc.).
All in all, feng shui experts advise to use your common sense this month to avoid bad things happening in your life. But most of all pray to God for protection from bad things or spirits. If there’s feng shui at home, good luck will increase but if you have faith in God it’s way better than anything else. Like I said (or wrote for this matter) earlier, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Photos courtesy of different websites
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Website: About News
