Secrets of a Fortune Teller

1. Aeromancy

(Image/ Source: metoffice.com)Aeromancy is all about keeping tabs on the sky. Its official definition is “divination from the state of the air or from atmospheric substances”, which means that fortune tellers and psychics watch the clouds, birds, and precipitation to interpret what may be happening (or about to happen) in someone’s life.

2. Palmistry

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Palm reading used to be known as chiromancy, and was originally used to detect witches back in medieval times. Palm reading tends to fall in and out of fashion these days, but there are still plenty of fortune tellers out there that will offer palm readings to clients to give them advice on their love life, career and happiness.

3. Dactyliomancy

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This is a form of fortune telling that is based on finger rings. It isn’t something that’s practiced all that often these days, but it’s a really cool way of finding out what lies ahead in your life. During these sessions, a fortune teller will suspend your ring with a fine thread over a round table marked with the letters of the alphabet. While it’s dangling, your ring will briefly settle above particular letters, which spells out a message.

4. Pyromancy

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Pyromancy basically means telling fortunes through fire or flames. It might sound like something straight out of Game of Thrones

, but it used to be quite popular in medieval times! You simply watch the shapes in the fire, and interpret them into visions, meanings and messages relating to love, life, and health.

5. Rhabdomancy

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This is a practice that is also known as dowsing in today’s world, and is quite simplistic compared to other forms of fortune telling! What’s known as a “divining rod” is used to find or uncover information about a person’s future. However, these rods are also used to find water, and are tipped toward the ground to find underground supplies.

6. Xylomancy

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If you’re familiar with a xylophone, you’ll probably know what this one is about! Xylomancy focuses on telling fortunes through the use of wood, but there are a LOT of ways this can be done. Fortune tellers have used everything from sticks and twigs to branches or logs over the years, and they can either be used as they are found in nature, or arranged by the fortune teller.

7. Theomancy

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This is one you definitely don’t see these days. Theomancy used to be practiced across the world many, many years ago, and focused on oracles (like priests and priestesses), who were thought to be portals to the gods. They would ask the gods questions on behalf of those in need, and they would then interpret the god’s answers.

8. Spactulamancy

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And before you ask- no, this is not about telling the future through a spatula in your kitchen! The word spatula actually means “shoulder blade” in Latin, so this is a fortune telling practice that’s based on reading and interpreting the shoulder blade of an animal. More specifically, an animal that has been cooked over a fire.

9. Psephomancy

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Have you ever had your fortune told through pebbles? It’s a form of fortune telling that’s actually becoming pretty popular these days. Pebbles are often marked, and are selected from a large container. The pebbles that are selected will then be interpreted and read for the client, and usually focus on love, health and happiness.

10. Ornithomancy

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Ornithomancy refers to “divination by the observation of flights of birds”, and is also sometimes known as augury. It’s a practice that relies on how birds fly (together and solo) and how this relates to our own spirit and soul. It’s not something that your average fortune teller offers these days though!

11. Phyllomancy

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This is a really cool one. A fortune teller will predict what’s in store for you by using leaves- but the way these leaves are used can vary pretty widely. For example, some fortune tellers will focus on the way leaves fall from the trees, while others prefer to focus on the sound of leaves more than anything else.

12. Onomancy

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So many aspects of modern fortune telling rely on onomancy in one way or another. The word comes from onoma,

 which means "name” FYI. In fortune telling, letters are typically given a numerical value, and those are then added up and interpreted. Onomancy is exactly that, and is the oldest form of this practice!

13. Oneiromancy (dream interpretation)

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Have you ever had your dreams interpreted before? Oneiromancy has fallen in and out of fashion over the years, and is currently enjoying a HUGE revival across the world. Dating as far back as the times of the Bible, dream interpretation can not only help predict the future, but also provide meaning to life events.

14. Necromancy

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We probably wouldn’t recommend practicing this one! If you’re not already familiar with what necromancy is, it basically refers to the act of summoning the dead to get them to tell the future. However, necromancy is also strongly linked with dark magic and sorcery, as many people who try to summon the dead are after more than their future being told…

15. Lecanomancy

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Lecanomancy is a pretty common practice in a lot of cultures around the world, and has been used to predict the future for centuries. The term comes from the Greek word lekane, meaning basin, and refers to the process of filling a basin with water and interpreting the shapes of the water into symbols and visions.

16. Geomancy

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Geomancy is a fairly common method of fortune telling. People often look for signs and visions of the future through figures, lines, or even geographical features You can try this out for yourself by grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, and making a ton of dots on it. If you focus your mind and choose to believe in geomancy, you can ask the dots some questions- and their answers might be quite telling!

17. Gyromancy

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Unfortunately, gyromancy isn’t about Greek wraps. It focuses on circles- more specifically, walking in or around a circle. The perimeter is marked with letters of the alphabet. Wherever a person trips or takes a break in the circle, the letter they stumble into will form part of a significant word or sentence that relates to that person’s future.

18. Hydromancy

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Basically, hydromancy is the practice of using water to predict the future. A lot of people tend to focus on the ebb and flow of the tides, as they work hand in hand with the moon. However, you can still practice hydromancy in different ways too. You can just use water in a pool, and interpret any signs you see.

19. Lithomancy

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This one is quite similar to psephomancy, as it also uses stones to predict the future. In lithomancy, stones act as charms or talismans, and are specially chosen for their quality. Think rose quartz and amethysts- that kind of thing. The future is predicted using the light reflected in the stones, and is a super popular practice in the British Isles.

20. Cleromancy

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The definition of cleromancy is pretty vague. It means “divination by means of casting”, which refers to throwing or tossing something to predict the future. Objects like coins and marked sticks are used quite a lot for this. These objects are thrown into the air, and how (and where) they land give clues to what may be in store for someone.

21. Aleuromancy (fortune cookies)

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As fortune telling goes, this is probably one of the most fun ways to suss out what’s in store for you! Everyone will have had a fortune cookie at some point, and you’ll find a little piece of paper inside that holds a message for you. It’s not exactly a revered practice for real-life fortune tellers these days, but it’s still hugely popular in Japan, where the fortune cookie originates.

22. Anthropomancy

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This is a fairly grim of telling the future, which (thankfully) isn’t used these days. Anthropomancy means predicting the future using animal entrails, and was VERY popular with ancient people around the world, including the Greeks. We won’t be asking for this next time we check in with our fortune teller…

23. Cartomancy (cards)

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Tarot cards are probably one of the most in-demand forms of fortune telling – in fact, it always has been! Cards have been used to predict the future all the way through human history, and were particularly popular back in the 18th

century. Apparently young women would often use cartomancy to learn who their future husbands would be.

24. Bibliomancy

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As you might have already guessed, bibliomancy is the practice of predicting the future through sacred books- especially the Bible. These books were frequently used to foretell the future by interpreting a random passage, and would also “remove negative entities” from a person. Not something we see as often these days…

25. Ceromancy

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Ceromancy is all about predicting the future through wax. A person will light some candles, and encourage the wax to drip. The wax will then be poured into a bowl of water, and the fortune teller will interpret “the figures” found in the solidified wax to predict a person’s future. You can try this one at home!

26. Belomancy

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Did you know that you can predict the future using arrows? It’s true! Belomancy is known as “divination by drawing arrows from a container”, and provides a person with some telling indicators about what their life holds. The arrows often have little messages written on them that a fortune teller will then interpret.

27. Axinomancy

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If you like your fortune telling with a hint of danger, axinomancy is for you. The movements of an axe placed on a post or piece of wood apparently give clues to a person’s future. An axe will only balance for so long, so when it moves, axinomancy principles state that the axe’s movements (like when it falls) will indicate what’s in store for someone.

28. Astragalomancy

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While we’re on the subject of falling objects, here’s another one for you. Astragalomancy was originally practiced with small bones with carvings in them, but this eventually evolved into dice instead. All you have to do is roll the dice, and the positions they fall in will predict a person’s future.

29. Catoptromancy

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Catoptromancy refers to mirror or crystal gazing, and is a fairly common way to predict the future. It’s said that this practice was originally created by the Greeks, and was then passed down through the generations. While gazing into mirrors isn’t something that many people do these days, crystal gazing is still a big hit!

30. Oomancy

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This is probably the wildest way to predict the future… Oomancy is all about interpreting the signs you see in an egg (yes, really) and these signs apparently give you an indication of what your future holds. Keep an eye on the egg white- this is where the clues are. Make sure you give it a try when you next make breakfast!