The Pocket Guide to Magic by Bart King

Author:Bart King
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781423606376
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2010-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

Fortune-

Telling

“LAST NIGHT I STAYED UP LATE PLAYING POKER WITH TAROT CARDS. I GOT A FULL HOUSE AND FOUR PEOPLE DIED.”—Steven Wright

The world is full of surprises, both pleasant and horrible. Why, at any point you might unexpectedly lose your house keys . . . or find mine. (Where are they?) How can we prepare ourselves for life’s unexpected events? Yes, I could always put my keys in the same place when I get home, thanks. But I could also turn to one of the countless “magical” ways we humans have invented for trying to foresee the future.

For instance, there’s an entire type of fortune-telling devoted to looking into reflective surfaces like crystal balls, mirrors, and pools. Called “scrying,” these methods supposedly reveal visions of the past and future, and even look into the spirit world. (Hey, if you foresaw an overhead shot of yourself knocking over a glass of milk, you’d be scrying over spilled milk!) It’s a time-honored method; in Guatemala, ancient Mayans stared into small crystals called ilb’al— “device for seeing.”

Starting in the Middle Ages, seers and Gypsies began gazing into large polished crystal balls, which were packed in black silk when not in use. The most famous crystal ball enthusiast was John Dee (1527–1608), the astrologer to Queen Elizabeth. And if you think nobody takes scrying seriously anymore, the current Dalai Lama was selected by a group of Buddhist monks who “discovered” his identity while looking into a Tibetan lake.

Tibet is currently part of China (what a rip-off!), and the I Ching (ee-jing, a.k.a., The Book of Changes) is China’s contribution to fortune-telling. With a tradition going back thousands of years, it’s probably the oldest method of fortune-telling still practiced. Confucius used his copy of the I Ching so much, he wore out its binding three times! Anyway, the way it works involves fifty sticks and a complex set of maneuvers. This leads one to look up a section in the I Ching. The book features short sayings with a high moral tone, so the user might read “Moving onward with integrity brings good fortune” or “Those opposed to righteousness meet with harm.”1

Cuppa Tea?

If you’ve heard of “reading tea leaves,” you know that fortune-telling can be done in the comfort of your own kitchen. I’d still have to hire a fortune-teller to read the tea leaves for me. (I stare and stare at them but can’t make out any letters.)

Tea-leaf reading (or tasseomancy) began in China sometime during the sixth century. (No one in the West even knew what tea was then!) If you want to try it, make a cup of loose-leaf tea. Drink MOST of the tea, and then turn the cup around three times. Next, tip the cup upside down, turn it once more, make a wish, and blow out the candles. (Oops, wrong event!) At this point the cup is lifted up and examined. Tea leaves stuck at the cup’s bottom tell of the future, chunks near the rim are today, and chunks near the handle are most important.

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