This is why people practice 'yakubarai' (exorcism of bad luck) or 'yakuyoke' (avoidance of bad luck) at their ages of calamity, in order to pre-empt adversity or misfortune by the help of Shinto and Buddhist deities.
それゆえ本厄の年に「厄祓い」・「厄除け」を行い、神仏の加護を受けて凶事や災難を未然に防ぐ慣習がある。