BE YOUR OWN FORTUNE TELLER
by Ceren Dide Türk
If “You will learn more about the future-you in this piece of writing.” was my first sentence, you would probably keep reading more enthusiastically. Unfortunately, you won’t. You won’t learn anything about your future. I am not a fortune teller or something. We will basically discuss fortune telling together and I will present you different techniques, but still I will be pleased if you don’t lose your enthusiasm.
Learning about future has always been our concern as human beings. I am pretty sure, it also concerns you, at least a little bit. Which university you will attend, how many kids you will have… That’s why we created different techniques to practice divination: to suppress our curiosity, to seek an answer and believe in it... I don’t know whether you have ever been to a fortune teller, but I have. That wasn’t my best experience for sure – I don’t like spooky places. But… It made me more curious. Not about my future (I am already at the maximum level.), but more about this fortune-telling stuff. (And yes, some of her predictions became true or it is just me assuming they became true.)
There are many different kinds of divinations. Some also have a scientific side, but we are all more interested in the entertainment side. In fact, the scientific side remains in theory, it hasn’t been proven yet. So… Let me introduce you three popular ones throughout.
1-Tasseography is a fortune telling technique that interprets patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds or wine sediments. For tea leaves reading, there are special cups designed just like the one in the photo and the interpretation is mainly based on the distribution of the leaves in separate areas inside the cup, each symbolizing a different value. It originates from China. Interpretation of coffee grounds is specifically called “Coffee reading”, which is the most popular method in Turkey. It is believed that certain figures that appear on the cup give clues about the future. I feel like the whole act of coffee reading depends more on the fortune teller’s ability to liken your coffee grounds to real life figures. This makes it quite subjective. It is possible that I could see a tree with so many branches while someone else could see a road with different extensions while interpreting the same shape, but both have different interpretations. Its subjectivity makes it less credible. The fun part, however, makes the whole process more popular and astonishing.
Palmistry
Palmistry, also known as chiromancy or palm reading is foretelling the future through the study of the palm. Various lines and bumps help the interpretation of future by their lengths, sizes, qualities and intersections. Each line symbolizes a different value. If you are interested in reading your own palm or someone else’s, I would recommend you this detailed palm reading guide linked below. The website clearly states what each line stands for and how to approach their lengths, sizes, qualities, etc. while interpreting.
Tarot Reading (My Favourite)
I believe, most of you are familiar with this one, Tarot Reading. I actually never had anyone read my tarot cards before, because I don’t quite feel comfortable with it, but there are some incredible websites and applications I would recommend if you are bored and want to have some fun. First, let’s discuss what tarot reading is. It is normally a branch of cartomancy which is a broader method of fortune telling including all types of cards, but because tarot cards are the most famous ones, I would prefer discussing them in more detail.
Tarot consists of 78 symbolic cards suggested as a soul map and a psychological guide. The person chooses cards and the reader’s interpretation of his past, present and future bases on those cards. Readers generally know what each card stands for and they adapt cards’ common interpretations, with respect to the condition, to each case.
There is much more to talk about since we, humans, have an unstoppable imagination. We keep inventing new techniques and try getting closer to what waits us in the future. There are some applications and web-sites specifically designed for this aim and of course to make money. But… Good news: there are some free ones. If you are interested, check them out!
Kaave falı (App)
Kahve Diyarı(App)
Falaaddin(App)
https://kahve.fali.net (Website)
https://www.falderyasi.com/falbaktir/kahve-fali (website)
www.kahvemvefalim.com (Website)
These are all in Turkish, let’s see some in English or with English options.
There is an English version of Kaave Fali: Kaave – Coffee Fortune Reading. (App)
https://www.horoscope.com/us/tarot/tarot-daily.aspx (Daily Tarot)
https://www.astrology.com/tarot/daily.html (Daily Tarot)
Basirly (App)
Bassarah (App)