Fortune Telling or Divination to use its proper name, is one of the oldest traditions in the world, arriving somewhere in between the first spoken and the first written languages. It has preoccupied mankind ever since, and like everything else we get our hands on, has diversified into many dozens of forms, depending upon geography, history and culture. For example in ancient times, and still practised in some countries today in Asia, animal entrails and bones are examined for hints of portents, whilst in European cultures we have developed the very symbolic and formulaic Tarot. Another form of fortune telling which all but died out, though is now re-emerging with ever increasing popularity is rune casting.
These are just a few examples of the kinds of Divination we will be looking at, so lets get started.
Animal Divination
Developed by the Roman's, this form of Divination required a Chicken, a sacred animal to the Romans, which was placed into a specially made Coop. Food was placed upon the ground, and the diviner would then sit back and observe. Everything the Chicken did had a special meaning, the way it scratched the ground, the way it eat its food, the noises it made. The purpose of this was to divine whether or not the Roman Gods would approve or disapprove of a particular plan. Bizarre though this may seem, there is evidence to indicate that it was a very common practice, and several other cultures also developed very similar methods.
Crystal Ball
The classic symbol of Divination throughout the world is the Crystal Ball, which is also commonly associated with gypsies. The idea behind the Crystal is that a medium (someone who has a connection or a link to the spirit world.., the other side.., call it what you may) will gaze into the ball for a period of time. The reflection of the individual wishing to know his/her future is distorted in the ball, and the Medium will see pictures or images within those distortions.
The Crystal Ball is actually reasonably sound in theory. The principal of bending light in a sphere or prism is commonly understood now; we can easily divide a single beam of light into various shades or frequencies by distorting the light. The same principal is used with the Ball. The Medium is not actually looking at the persons reflection, but is viewing their aura, which is shown in the distortion in just the same way that a beam of light shows its real colours. Usually the Medium will be working in very low lighting, as the suns rays, or any other light source for that matter will cloud and distort the true images of the future.
Dice
Dice throwing is another ancient form of divination. Today we use dice for gambling and other games, though this isn't what they were originally designed for. The Dice is the perfect representation of luck and chance. Many cultures however believed that there was no such thing as luck and everything was fate. Therefore, under that principal, it goes to say that anything that has pure chance and nothing else in it, will actually be a means of reading ones fate.
By rolling three six sided dice, and comparing them to the total number, the individual numbers and the order they arrive in, it is possible to check the roll against a table of meanings. The person who is throwing the dice asks a question before throwing, and then must interpret the responding meaning to his specific question.
I Ching
I Ching is the ancient Chinese divination equivalent to the Western Tarot. The principal of the I Ching is that everything exists in opposing or complimentary dualities, such as Life and Death, Light and Dark, Male and Female, Heaven and Hell and Yin and Yang. These dualities bring with them discord and conflict as well as balance and coexistence - In essence the very things that make us human.
I Ching characters are called Trigrams. These are symbols made up of three complete or broken lines. The whole lines are male, whilst the broken line is female. There are 8 different Trigrams, which can give up to 64 different meanings. These meanings are made up of opposing or complimentary patterns, which will provide an answer to any question.
Ouija Board
The Ouija Board is a method of contacting the dead. It was developed in France - hence the name Ouija or Yes, Yes. For many of us, this is little more than a game played as children or young adults, though if you ask around, you'll here plenty of stories of strange occurrences following a session with the Ouija. For others however this is a deadly serious method of contacting those who have passed away.
The Ouija is made upon a table, with cut outs of all the letters in the alphabet, and two for the words Yes and No, placed in a circle. A planchet is made of wood, with a hole within it or a pointer on one side.
Another version of the Ouija is to had all the characters written on a single board or table top. These are often much more ornamental. Legend has it that the more these boards are used, the more effective they become (which is also an over used, low budget, horror film plot device). Instead of a planchet an upside down clear glass may be used instead.
A group of people will sit together in a circle and place a hand or finger upon the planchet and with their combined concentration call upon a spirit, which communicates by spelling out answers to questions.
Palmistry
The earliest forms of reading ones hands are believed to come from Jewish origins. The idea is that ones future life, and ones character is written in lines upon the hand. There are numerous lines upon everyone's hand, though the three main ones are the Head line, the Heart line and the Life line. The strength and length of these lines give a strong indication of ones life length, ones health, ones relationships as well as ones destiny.
Contrary to common belief however it is not just the lines on the hand that are used. The shape of the fingers and of the "mounts", the upper parts of the hand where the skin doesn't fold are required to properly interpret the meanings on the lines. The mounts are named after the planets, and contain every persons birthmark, providing astrologers with the approximate place and time of birth.
Rune Stones
Rune Stones, formerly from Iceland, have made a strong recovery in the last century as a popular and easy form divination. There are 25 stones, each with their own specific symbolic meaning. There are over a dozen ways are casting the runes, which mainly involve drawing them at random from a bag - and placing them on the ground, the order of which is then interpreted by the diviner. In many ways the Rune Stones are very similar to both the Tarot and I Ching.
Tarot Cards
Undoubtedly the most popular form of fortune telling in western culture today is still Tarot cards. Unlike other forms of fortune telling, the Tarot provides a pictorial representation, that can heighten the reading and even be partially interpreted by the fortune seeker, (Though modern I Ching cards, can also now displayed in a pictorial fashion). The thrill of drawing a card called the Wheel of Fortune, the Lovers and the dread of Death is all a part of the experience (even though these cards do not always mean what they appear too!).
There are several claims to where the Tarot originated from, though this is most probably from ancient Jewish Cabalism. The cards consist of 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana, which corresponds to the number of characters in the Hebrew alphabet. These cards are then divided again into 4 suits.
The cards are drawn by the Fortune Seeker and laid out in a pattern, which takes him / her on a journey through their personality by reading four paths of spiritual enlightenment.
Each card has multiple meanings, depending upon whether they are the right way up, upside down, and the cards they are drawn next to. The actual task of interpreting the journey is a considerable skill.
Tea Leaves
A common form of fortune telling from the Victorian days. The idea is that the fortune seeker would drink from a cup of tea, until only a teaspoon was left. This would then be rotated three times and then poured into a saucer. The patterns left by the tea leaves would form the basis of the interpretation for the near future.
Personally I would have to say that this is one of the more bizarre methods of fortune telling, who's time of origin is extremely vague. This isn't however a purely English tradition, with variants of this divination hinted at in ancient Japan, following the tea ceremony, and again in the middle east with coffee beans.
Throwing Sticks
This is one of the most ancient forms of fortune telling, developed by the Chinese. It is performed in a temple with a small wooden pot full of sticks. The fortune teller will shake the pot up and down, until one of the sticks falls out.
Each stick has a symbolic message attached to it, and the first one to hit the ground is read and referenced with a book which provides extensive interpretations.
This form of fortune telling is still commonly practised in China today, and is considered a part of the visit to temple.
