Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person’s life.
People from ancient times until today from all over the globe are interested in fortune telling. Whether they are on the telling or receiving end. Fortune tellers are plentiful around the world. They portray the image of a gypsy woman dressed in colorful garb and accessories. Historically, fortune tellers grew from Renaissance magic associated with gypsies.
Fortune telling dates back to early history in Egypt and China. Fortune telling played a major part of ancient medicine and religion in ancient history. In the 14th century, tarot cards originated in France, Italy, India, China and Egypt.
Different cultures, like ancient Greeks and medieval kings, practiced many different fortune telling techniques.
Some of the different forms of fortune telling are astrology and numerology. Astrology is a predictive form of fortune telling. Numerologyis is practiced using crystal balls, playing cards, dice, fire and water.
Fortune tellers use various studies to analyze characters through forms like facial, handwriting and palm reading.
Following is a brief synopsis broken down into a several centuries:
Gypsies used tarot cards for fortune telling in ancient times, although, the cards were probably first used for games. Understood wisdom reaches the reader through the tarot cards.
In the 18th century, tarot cards were associated with magic.
In the 19th century, scholars connected the use of tarot cards to philosophy and other Egyptian mysteries.
In the 20th century, tarot cards were used by various societies for fortune telling.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, fortune telling methods became popular in the western culture. Examples of well known pop culture forture telling is the Magic 8-Ball, which is a toy sold by Mattel today.
Fortune tellers spread out the tarot cards and then read each card to interpret the meaning. The fortune teller relays the message interpreted to the interested seeker.
Long ago, there were several different types of tarot cards used. The venetian tarot cards are standard tarot cards with 78 cards in a deck. The Venetian deck is broken up into two groups of cards. One group consists of 56 cards (the Major Arcana) and the other group consists of 22 trump cards (the Minor Arcana).
The Major Arcana cards are spiritual cards reflecting on the seeker’s life. The fortune teller shuffles the tarot card deck and then lays out a few of the cards (either selected at random by the seeker or dealt off the top of the shuffled deck) in a spread. The meaning of a card is modified depending on its position in the spread, whether it is upside down or not, and the meaning of card adjacent to it.
Tarot cards describe various life energies. The tarot card fortune teller processes the energy into information about the seeker’s life. The seeker then processes the information given to them as creatively as they can. The tarot card reader doesn’t know what is going on in one’s life. Only the seeker can walk away with the information given to them and use it to their benefit. Tarot cards help seekers acknowledge what is projected from the card. It allows a seeker to be conscious. The perception that the card portrays is quite similar to a reflection in the mirror for a seeker. It allows the seeker to become more perceptive at a deeper level.
Based on biblical prohibitions, some religions oppose fortune telling. Not all of us are interested in knowing what the future holds, but for those of us who are, fortune telling is a popular interest all over the world and fortune tellers are plentiful.



