AUSPICIOUS DAYS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 314, 29 June 1945, Page 22

AUSPICIOUS DAYS

(Written for "The Listener" by

ROBERT H.

NEIL

N auspicious day to you! Perhaps you don’t know that there are such things as auspicious days. Maybe you believe that one day is just as good as another, except in the matter of weather. Someone, however, ‘has sent me a Prophetic Messenger and, in running through its pages, I find the following useful information: June:-Bake on the Ist, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 28th, and 29th. Brew Ist, 2nd, 10th to 12th, 20th, 21st, 28th, and 29th. Male employees 13th, 14th, 18th, 19th, 26th, and 27th. The advice is added: "We wish our ,readers to take advantage of these days, as the bread will then be lighter and more wholesome; the beer of better quality; and employees will prove more honest and remain in their jobs." If you are a fisherman, you are told that "the best days for fishing in June are the Ist, and 2nd, 4th, 10th to 12th, and 21st." If a farmer, that the best days on which to sow your seeds are, "the Ist and 2nd, 20th and 21st, 24th and 25th, and 28th and 29th," but only between certain specified times on those days. The same astrological authority tells us that the weather will be very wintry and stormy for the first fortnight. That should be a nice change! Advice for June Babies There are auspicious days, and otherwise, on which to be born. Some of us might have saved ourselves a good deal of worry and our parents a great deal of expense had we but possessed the knowledge with which this pathetic-sorry-prophetic messenger supplies us. Take this month of June, for instance. Children born, as under, have the following prospects in life: 3rd.--Gifted in art, but thriftless. 5th.-Connected with buildings, such as hospitals. 6th.--Constantly attempting the impossible. 11th--A child born on this day secitals do well, and succeed as a policeman. 13th.-Charming disposition. 15th.-Practical, but changeableminded... _19th-Fame as a musician. 21st.-Victim of circumstances. 24th.-Many adventures; be careful of the sea. 31st-A child born on this day will do well and thrive amazingly. Therefore my sweet June babes, it you want to do well and be policemen, you must arrive on the 11th, But if you can postpone your advent to the 31st, you may do even better. . _ The "everyday guide," also appended, suggests that you will be wise not to travel on the 3rd; that you must "avoid hypocrites" on the 4th; that the 10th will be "a very adverse and violent day"; that the 22nd "favours loans, railways, and dealings with strangers"; and that

on the 24th, which happens to be a Sunday, you must "avoid family disputes," Be Careful When You Marry! It all seems frightfully interesting and unusually important. I hope you agree, I shouldn’t like go think that I’d been wasting your time. Because, as a matter of fact, there are people who believe all this. Such as the ex-Maharajah of Ramjam. That ex-potentate should have been married the other day, but the ceremony didn’t take place. It was discovered that it was not an auspicious day, and according to Hindu rites and ceremonial, a marriage must take place on an auspicious day, or not at all. Fortunately, or urfortunately, there seem to be about three auspiciows days

out of every seven, so the wedding has been merely postponed and not abandoned. But the instance just shows you how careful you have to be, doesn’t it? My wedding took place during a thunderstorm. Was that an auspicious day? I don’t think it would have beenhad I turned back at the first crash of thunder. , Yet, had my friends been exMaharajahs, they would probably have sent me home. Some of them were full of omens as it was. How It Might Work ~ You'll have to admit, though, that if we ran our lives according to the lines laid down by "prophetic messengers," those would run somewhat differently. Suppose ,that, when on tumbling out of bed to-morrow morning-we'll assume it was.a Monday-you glanced at your astrological almanac and read the warning: This day is very bad for business. You will be well advised to spend the morning in bed, the afternoon at the pictures, and the evening with a quiet game of cards. What would you do? The thing to do, obviously, would be to ring up your boss and tell him that you’d found the day was not an auspicious one for work- ing. _The only trouble I can foresee is that he might also have his prophetic guide, but another- edition compiled by a rival (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) astrologer. And, on turning up his copy, he might find under the same date: This is a favourable day on which *® to dispense with the services of workers who are constantly late of arrival, or who stay away from work on frivolous excuses. / In which case, as like as not, you would exclaim, "Bless my stars!" Or words to that effect. )