The Nation has an intriguing report, based, at least in part, on previous coverage by Manager, that takes up the numerological aspects of Bangkok’s increasing political tension. Apparently, the number 10 has special significance for Thaksin and looms large in a prospective “do-or-die plot”.

Reading that account I thought of this recent book review by Craig Reynolds. It sheds light on the various forms of superstition relevant to elite decision-making in Thailand. Last year I also wrote, at some length, about the role of astrology in Thai politics. And readers looking for a much more detailed account of these matters will find this 2008 paper by Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit is well worth a read.

But perhaps this kind of considered and scholarly analysis only gets us so far…

So it’s worth asking: Are there any fortune-tellers out there among the New Mandala readership? What are the stars (or numbers, or entrails, etc.) telling you? Is Thaksin’s number 10 gambit going to pay off?