Draft

Stebbing 1

Stephanie Stebbing
Mr. Ken Kerr
EN 101-1
9/12/10

The Practice and History of Fortune Telling

Fortune can be defined as wealth, riches, luck, or things that are to happen to a person in his or her life. In comparison to luck, fortune is a positive prediction about one’s future. Luck can be either positive or negative, and is usually unpredictable. Bad luck is defined as an “unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes”, or an “unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate”. Good luck is very closely related to good fortune, with the exception that good luck is not often predicted because it is something that happens to someone randomly, and in contrast, one’s good fortune is believed to be their destiny, or fate. It is possible, yet not too often that bad luck or misfortune is predicted in fortune telling since it is a random occurrence. Fortune telling is a controversial practice, and increasingly so in today’s modern society because there is such a versatile population of believers, non-believers, and critics who each have their own opinions about the practice. Some believe that it is a science, mainly those who believe in astrology and numerology. Those who do, would say that there is a scientific explanation for why things happen the way they do, and that these predictions are just observations of that science at work in people’s lives. Some believe that it is merely a prediction made by specialists based off of certain objects and character analysis, and those people who don’t believe at all in the works of fortune telling might say it’s a scam.
There are many different beliefs, opinions, and types of practices involved in fortune telling. These beliefs and practices differ from one region of the world to another. However, fortune telling is practiced all over the world, even if it is a minor form of it, such as a booth at a carnival with a supposed gypsy who predicts your future through tarot cards. Fortune telling was practiced in ancient China, Egypt, Chaldea, and Babylonia as long ago as 4,000 BC. It was also widely spread throughout Greece, and was practiced by many ancient Greek philosophers such as Nostradamus to predict the occurrence of events in the future. Fortune telling played an important role in ancient religion and medicine. During the time when we didn’t have cures for illnesses such as the flu or pneumonia, many families used gypsies and psychics to predict weather or not a member of the family who suffered from a like illness would live or die.
Certain countries believe in and rely on fortune telling more than others. For example, Nigerians rely heavily on fortune telling by the gods to predict their future state of being. They believe that gods bring good fortune to those who worship them. In Nigeria, their faith with one god is not very sacred, because they are allowed to change faith to another god, or add an extra god to the one they already worship if they believe that another one would bring them better fortune than their first. Different gods bring different fortunes, so in time of need, one would worship the god that will bring them good fortune to accommodate them in the way they need. If rivers overflowed and floods were expected, worshipping Oya, the river goddess, would keep you safe.
Fortune telling is often associated with character analysis, and can take such forms as graphology (the study of handwriting), physiognomy (study of facial characteristics), phrenology (study of contours on the skull), and palmistry (study of the lines on the palm of the hand). Some of the methods used for fortune telling are astrology, numerology, and the utilization of objects such as playing cards, tea leaves, crystal balls, etc… Tarot reading is a well-known method of fortune telling because it is widely practiced among the united States. Another well-known method is psychic and astrology readings.
Believers in good fortune and luck often have one object that they believe is their “lucky charm”, or something that would bring them good fortune when it is near. This also differs from one country to another. In China and other Asian countries, a cricket serves as a watchdog because it stops chirping when danger is near. It is considered unlucky to kill or injure a cricket in Asian and European countries, as well as in the far east. Ladybugs bring good luck and prosperity to your daily life. The number of spots there are on a ladybug indicate how lucky it is. A ladybug with a lot of spots is very lucky, as opposed to one with very few spots which is not as lucky. In Ireland, four-leaf clovers are considered very lucky. An Irish blessing states, "For each petal on the shamrock this brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day." A rainbow is also a lucky symbol because there is supposedly a pot of gold at the end of one. A few animals are thought to be signs of good fortune as well, such as dolphins, turtles, frogs, elephants, rabbit feet, and alligator teeth.
Fortune telling is practiced all over the world, and some countries rely on it more heavily than others. Many Asian and European countries use fortune telling in their religion and in their medicine practices as well. It has not been proved to be a scientific technique, though some people believe it is. Fortune and luck are similar, but fortune is usually a positive prediction, while luck is not a prediction at all, but an event that occurs in someone’s life that may be positive or negative. Fortune telling is used today in many societies and cultures for various reasons, and will most likely always be around as a connection to our unknown future.


Works Cited:
“History of Fortune Telling” Parapsychology and Magic

http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/good_fortune.htm“Good Fortune” Online Dictionary from AudioEnglish.net

“50 Signs of Good Luck From Around the World” from Squidoo

“Bad Luck” Online Dictionary from AudioEnglish.net
http://www.audioenglish.net/dictionary/bad_luck.htmhttp://www.squidoo.com/goodlucksignshttp://istina.rin.ru/eng/para/text/614.html

Frederick Community College Ebrary: Culture & Customs of Nigeria.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/frederick/Doc?id=10017928&ppg=53