Fortune telling is the practice of

predicting A prediction (Latin ''præ-'', "before," and ''dicere'', "to say"), or forecast, is a statement about a future event or data. They are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge. There is no universal agreement about the exact ...

information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical with the practice of

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a religious ritual, invoking deities or spirits, while the term fortune telling implies a less serious or formal setting, even one of popular culture, where belief in occult workings behind the prediction is less prominent than the concept of

suggestion Suggestion is the psychological process by which a person guides their own or another person's desired thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by presenting stimuli that may elicit them as reflexes instead of relying on conscious effort. Nineteenth-ce ...

, spiritual or practical advisory or

affirmation Affirmation or affirm may refer to: Logic * Affirmation, a declaration that something is true * In logic, the union of the subject and predicate of a proposition Law * Affirmation (law), a declaration made by and allowed to those who conscienti ...

. Historically, Pliny the Elder describes use of the crystal ball in the 1st century CE by soothsayers (''"crystallum orbis"'', later written in Medieval Latin by scribes as ''orbuculum''). Contemporary Western images of fortune telling grow out of folkloristic reception of Renaissance magic, specifically associated with

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

people. During the 19th and 20th century, methods of divination from non-Western cultures, such as the

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

, were also adopted as methods of fortune telling in western popular culture. An example of divination or fortune telling as purely an item of pop culture, with little or no vestiges of belief in the occult, would be the '' Magic 8-Ball'' sold as a toy by Mattel, or Paul II, an octopus at the

Sea Life Aquarium Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the world. ...

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

used to predict the outcome of matches played by the Germany national football team. There is opposition to fortune telling in Christianity,

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, Baháʼísm and Judaism based on scriptural prohibitions against divination. Terms for one who claims to see into the future include ''fortune teller'', '' crystal-gazer'', ''spaewife'', ''seer'', ''soothsayer'', '' sibyl'', '' clairvoyant'', and '' prophet''; related terms which might include this among other abilities are ''

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

'', ''

augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

'', and ''visionary''. Fortune telling is dismissed by skeptics as being based on magical thinking and

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

Methods

Common methods used for fortune telling in Europe and the Americas include astromancy, horary astrology, pendulum reading, spirit board reading, tasseography (reading tea leaves in a cup), cartomancy (fortune telling with cards), tarot card reading, crystallomancy (reading of a crystal sphere), and chiromancy (palmistry, reading of the palms). The last three have traditional associations in the popular mind with the

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and Sinti people. Another form of fortune telling, sometimes called "reading" or "spiritual consultation", does not rely on specific devices or methods, but rather the practitioner gives the client advice and predictions which are said to have come from spirits or in visions. * Aeromancy: by interpreting atmospheric conditions. * Alectromancy: by observation of a rooster pecking at grain. * Aleuromancy: by flour. * Astrology: by the movements of celestial bodies. * Astromancy: by the stars. *

Augury Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin ''aus ...

: by the flight of birds. * Auramancy by someone's aura or feelings * Bazi or four pillars: by hour, day, month, and year of birth. * Bibliomancy: by books; frequently, but not always, religious texts. * Cartomancy: by playing cards, tarot cards, or oracle cards. * Ceromancy: by patterns in melting or dripping wax. * Chiromancy: by the shape of the hands and lines in the palms. * Chronomancy: by determination of lucky and unlucky days. * Clairvoyance: by spiritual vision or inner sight. *

Cleromancy Cleromancy is a form of sortition (casting of lots) in which an outcome is determined by means that normally would be considered random, such as the rolling of dice, but that are sometimes believed to reveal the will of a deity. In classical civ ...

: by casting of lots, or casting bones or stones. * Cold reading: by using visual and aural clues. * Crystallomancy: by crystal ball also called scrying. * Extispicy: by the entrails of animals. *

Face reading Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...

: by means of variations in face and head shape. * Feng shui: by earthen harmony. * Gastromancy: by stomach-based ventriloquism (historically). * Geomancy: by markings in the ground, sand, earth, or soil. * Haruspicy: by the livers of sacrificed animals. * Horary astrology: the astrology of the time the question was asked. * Hydromancy: by water. *

I Ching divination I Ching divination is a form of cleromancy applied to the ''I Ching''. The text of the ''I Ching'' consists of sixty-four Hexagram (I Ching), hexagrams: six-line figures of ''Yin and yang, yin'' (broken) or ''Yin and yang, yang'' (solid) lines, ...

: by yarrow stalks or coins and the

. * Kau cim by means of numbered bamboo sticks shaken from a tube. *

Lithomancy Lithomancy is a form of divination by which the future is told using stones or the reflected light from the stones. The practice is most popular in the British Isles. History The earliest verified account of lithomancy comes from Photius, the p ...

: by stones or gems. *

Molybdomancy Molybdomancy (from and -mancy) is a technique of divination using molten metal. Typically, molten lead or tin is dropped into water. It can be found as a tradition in various cultures, including Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Ger ...

: by molten metal after dumped in cold water. *

Naeviology Naeviology is a method of divination which looks at the moles, scars, or other bodily marks on a person as a means of telling their future. It peaked in popularity between the 1700 and 1800s. Several scientific papers have tried to automate the p ...

: by moles, scars, or other bodily marks. * Necromancy: by the dead, or by spirits or souls of the dead. *

Nephomancy Aeromancy (from Greek ἀήρ ''aḗr'', "air", and ''manteia'', "divination") is divination conducted by interpreting atmospheric conditions. Alternate spellings include arologie, aeriology and aërology. Practice Aeromancy uses cloud formatio ...

: by shapes of clouds. *

Numerology Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

: by numbers. * Oneiromancy: by dreams. * Onomancy: by names. * Onychomancy: by a form of palmistry looking at the fingernails. * Palmistry: by lines and mounds on the hand. * Parrot astrology: by parakeets picking up fortune cards * Paper fortune teller: origami used in fortune-telling games. * Pendulum reading: by the movements of a suspended object. * Pyromancy: by gazing into fire. * Rhabdomancy: divination by rods. *

Runecasting There is some evidence that, in addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magic. This is the case from the earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to the Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and ...

Runic divination There is some evidence that, in addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magic. This is the case from the earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to the Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and th ...

: by

runes Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

. * Scrying: by looking at or into reflective objects. * Spirit board: by planchette or talking board. *

Taromancy Tarot card reading is a form of cartomancy whereby practitioners use tarot cards to purportedly gain insight into the past, present or future. They formulate a question, then draw cards to interpret them for this end. A traditional tarot deck con ...

: by a form of cartomancy using tarot cards. * Tasseography or tasseomancy: by tea leaves or coffee grounds.

Sociology

Gipsies Fortune telling Fac simile of a Woodcut in the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster in folio Basle 1552

Western fortune tellers typically attempt predictions on matters such as future romantic, financial, and childbearing prospects. Many fortune tellers will also give "character readings". These may use

numerology Numerology (also known as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, of the letters in ...

graphology Graphology is the analysis of handwriting with attempt to determine someone's personality traits. No scientific evidence exists to support graphology, and it is generally considered a pseudoscience or scientifically questionable practice. Howe ...

, palmistry (if the subject is present), and astrology. In contemporary Western culture, it appears that women consult fortune tellers more than men. Some women have maintained long relationships with their personal readers. Telephone consultations with psychics grew in popularity through the 1990s, and by the 2010s additional contact methods such as email and videoconferencing also became available, but none of these have completely replaced traditional in-person methods of consultation.

As a business in North America

Discussing the role of fortune telling in society, Ronald H. Isaacs, an American

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and author, opined, "Since time immemorial humans have longed to learn that which the future holds for them. Thus, in ancient civilization, and even today with fortune telling as a true profession, humankind continues to be curious about its future, both out of sheer curiosity as well as out of desire to better prepare for it." Popular media outlets like '' The New York Times'' have explained to their American readers that although 5000 years ago, soothsayers were prized advisers to the Assyrians, they lost respect and reverence during the rise of Reason in the 17th and 18th centuries. With the rise of commercialism, "the sale of occult practices dapted to survivein the larger society," according to sociologists Danny L. and Lin Jorgensen. Ken Feingold, writer of "Interactive Art as Divination as a Vending Machine," stated that with the invention of money, fortune telling became "a private service, a commodity within the marketplace". As

J. Peder Zane John Peder Zane (born May 27, 1962) is an American journalist who is a columnist for RealClearPolitics and Articles Editor for RealClearInvestigations. His national awards include the Distinguished Writing Award for Commentary from the American ...

wrote in ''The New York Times'' in 1994, referring to the Psychic Friends Network, "Whether it's 3 P.M. or 3 A.M., there's

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

and her psychic friends selling advice on love, money and success. In a nation where the power of crystals and the likelihood that angels hover nearby prompt more contemplation than ridicule, it may not be surprising that one million people a year call Ms. Warwick's friends."

Clientele

In 1994, the psychic counsellor Rosanna Rogers of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, explained to J. Peder Zane that a wide variety of people consulted her: " Couch potatoes aren't the only people seeking the counsel of psychics and astrologers. Clairvoyants have a booming business advising Philadelphia bankers, Hollywood lawyers and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

's of

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies... If people knew how many people, especially the very rich and powerful ones, went to psychics, their jaws would drop through the floor." Rogers "claims to have 4,000 names in her rolodex."

Janet Lee Janet Lee (, born October 22, 1976) is a Taiwanese-American retired tennis player. She won three doubles titles during her professional career on the WTA Tour. She competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments in both singles and doubles. Her car ...

, also known as the Greenwich psychic, claims that her clientele often included Wall Street brokers who were looking for any advantage they could get. Her usual fee was around $150 for a session but some clients would pay between $2,000 and $9,000 per month to have her available 24 hours a day to consult.

Typical clients

In 1982, Danny Jorgensen, a professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida offered a spiritual explanation for the popularity of fortune telling. He said that people visit psychics or fortune tellers to gain self-understanding, and knowledge which will lead to personal power or success in some aspect of life. In 1995, Ken Feingold offered a different explanation for why people seek out fortune tellers:

We desire to know other people's actions and to resolve our own conflicts regarding decisions to be made and our participation in social groups and economies. ... Divination seems to have emerged from our knowing the inevitability of death. The idea is clear—we know that our time is limited and that we want things in our lives to happen in accord with our wishes. Realizing that our wishes have little power, we have sought technologies for gaining knowledge of the future... gain power over our own ives

Ultimately, the reasons a person consults a

diviner Diviner, also referred to as the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment (DLRE), is an infrared radiometer aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which is studying the Moon. It has been used to create ...

or fortune teller depend on cultural and personal expectations.

Services

Traditional fortune tellers vary in methodology, generally using techniques long established in their cultures and thus meeting the cultural expectations of their clientele. In the United States and Canada, among clients of European ancestry, palmistry is popularClairvoyant or counsellor? Meet the woman who walks a fine line.
The Northern Echo. 27 October 2000. and, as with astrology and tarot card reading, advice is generally given about specific problems besetting the client. Non-religious spiritual guidance may also be offered. An American clairvoyant by the name of Catherine Adams has written, "My philosophy is to teach and practice spiritual freedom, which means you have your own spiritual guidance, which I can help you get in touch with." In the African American community, where many people practice a form of folk magic called hoodoo or rootworking, a fortune-telling session or "reading" for a client may be followed by practical guidance in spell-casting and Christian prayer, through a process called "magical coaching". In addition to sharing and explaining their visions, fortune tellers can also act like counselors by discussing and offering advice about their clients' problems. They want their clients to exercise their own willpower.

Full-time careers

Some fortune tellers support themselves entirely on their divination business; others hold down one or more jobs, and their second jobs may or may not relate to the occupation of divining. In 1982, Danny L., and Lin Jorgensen found that "while there is considerable variation among hese secondaryoccupations, art-time fortune tellersare over-represented in human service fields: counseling, social work, teaching, health care." The same authors, making a limited survey of North American diviners, found that the majority of fortune tellers are married with children, and a few claim graduate degrees. "They attend movies, watch television, work at regular jobs, shop at K-Mart, sometimes eat at McDonald's, and go to the hospital when they are seriously ill."

Legality

In 1982, the sociologists Danny L., and Lin Jorgensen found that, "when it is reasonable, ortune tellerscomply with local laws and purchase a business license." However, in the United States, a variety of local and state laws restrict fortune telling, require the licensing or bonding of fortune tellers, or make necessary the use of terminology that avoids the term "fortune teller" in favor of terms such as "spiritual advisor" or "psychic consultant." There are also laws that outright forbid the practice in certain districts. For instance, fortune telling is a class B

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Under New York State law, S 165.35: Lawmakers who wrote this statute acknowledged that fortune tellers do not restrict themselves to "a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement" and that people will continue to seek out fortune tellers even though fortune tellers operate in violation of the law. Similarly, in New Zealand, Section 16 of the Summary Offences Act 1981 provides a one thousand dollar penalty for anyone who sets out to "deceive or pretend" for financial recompense that they possess telepathy or clairvoyance or acts as a medium for money through use of "fraudulent devices." As with the New York legislation cited above, however, it is not a criminal offence if it is solely intended for purposes of entertainment. Saudi Arabia also bans the practice outright, considering fortune telling to be sorcery and thus contrary to Islamic teaching and jurisprudence. It has been punishable by death.

Critical analysis

Fortune telling is dismissed by skeptics as being based on magical thinking and

. Skeptic Bergen Evans suggested that fortune telling is the result of a "naïve selection of something that have happened from a mass of things that haven't, the clever interpretation of ambiguities, or a brazen announcement of the inevitable." Other skeptics claim that fortune telling is nothing more than cold reading. A large amount of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

has occurred in the practice of fortune telling. Fortune telling and how it works raises many critical questions. For example, fortune-telling occurs through various methods such as psychic readings and tarot cards. Similarly these methods are largely based on random phenomena. For example, astrologers believe that the movement of stars in the sky can have implications on one's life. In the case of tarot cards, people believe that images displayed on the cards have significant meanings on their lives. However, there is a lack of evidence to support why such things, such as the stars, would have any implications on our lives. Additionally, fortune-telling readings and predictions made by horoscopes, for example, are often general enough to apply to anyone. In cold reading, for example, readers often begin by stating general descriptions and continuing to make specifics based on the reactions they receive from the person whose life they are predicting. The tendency for people to deem general descriptions as being representative to themselves has been termed the Barnum effect and has been studied by psychologists for many years.Dutton, D.L. (1988). ''The Cold Reading Technique'' in ''Experientia'', Volume 44, pp. 326-332 Nonetheless, even with a lack of evidence supporting the various methods of fortune-telling and the many frauds that have occurred by psychic readers, amongst others, fortune-telling continues to become popular around the world. There are many reasons for the appealing nature of fortune-telling such as that people often experience stress when there is uncertainty and thus seek to gain deeper insight into their lives.

Notes

References

* *Hughes, M., Behanna, R; Signorella, M. (2001). ''Perceived Accuracy of Fortune Telling and Belief in the Paranormal''. Journal of Social Psychology 141: 159-160. *. *.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune-Telling Divination Romani religion