In my previous column, I wondered if eating snake meat in the Year of the Snake would bring good or bad luck. My Google search showed several results, including AI generated results. They warned that killing or harming snakes in the Year of the Snake would bring misfortune. I don’t know whether to believe that or not because I am a blank slate about astrology. The expression “a blank slate” used this way means you have no knowledge about a particular subject. In any case, I would run like the wind if I saw a snake instead of trying to kill it.
To run like the wind means to run very fast. And as I said in my previous column, eating snake meat makes me unwell. It is a tradition for the Heung Yee Kuk chairman to draw a fortune stick at the Che Kung Temple in Shatin on the second day of the Lunar New Year to predict Hong Kong’s fortune in the coming year. The current chairman, Kenneth Lau Ip-keung, drew a neutral stick. The word “neutral” used this way means neither good nor bad. The fortune stick had a Chinese phrase that warned against being greedy and stressed the importance of doing good.
Most people don’t need a fortune stick to tell them not to be greedy and to always do good things! I hope the Year of the Snake will bring me good luck, but I know there will be good days and bad days. Each day is just the luck of the draw, which means it is up to chance, like gambling, and you have no control over it.
在上一篇文章中，我好奇究竟在蛇年吃蛇肉算是會帶來好運還是厄運。我谷歌搜尋顯示出幾個結果，包括AI人工智能生成的結果。它們都警告說，在蛇年殺蛇或傷害蛇會帶來不幸。我不知道應不應該相信它，因為我對於占星玄學是 a blank slate——習語 a blank slate在這裏是指你對某個特定的題目一竅不通，像一張白紙一樣。在任何情況之下，見到蛇我都會立時飛快地跑走（run like the wind），而不是去殺牠。
To run like the wind意即像風一樣飛跑。正如我在上一篇文章中所說的，吃蛇肉會令我不適。新界鄉議局主席傳統上每年年初二都會到沙田車公廟求籤，預測香港來年的運程。現任主席劉業強求得了一支中（neutral）籤。Neutral在這裏的意思是不算好也不算壞。 籤文有一句中文語句，警告人不可貪心，以及強調做好事的重要。
大部分人都不用求籤來告訴自己不要貪心和要常常做好事吧！我希望蛇年會為我帶來好運，但我知道總會有好日子和不如意的日子。每一天也只是 the luck of the draw，意即像賭博一樣，全靠運氣，你只能聽天由命，無法控制，半點不由人。
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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻
