Fortune Telling

I think there is a certain humour in how people react to predictions. Usually surprise and relief. The most interesting to watch is probably melon casting, where one tosses a melon high in the air and divines the future in the spattered broken remains after it comes down on a hard surface. Waste of good food if you ask me, but a spectacle to observe. - Dorn Okar, Iskandean, Beggar and Skeptic

About

On Entorais there are any number of mundane or magical soothsaying options for those wishing to try and predict future events, or divine ones potential fate. In essence the finding and interpretation of patterns from various sources is believed to be linked to the fate of the world and its inhabitants.

Mundane Methods

All methods involve convincing someone that a vague answer will come to pass as true. Usually the soothsayer reads a fair amount of body language, and response to suggestions to come up with a convincing reading. Generally the results are vague enough to allow reinterpretation to match the facts, which only helps to reinforce their validity. In the end the practice is a real as the gods themselves; difficult to prove, lots of evidence is questionable, and if pressed the phrase "works in inscrutable ways" tends to be uttered.

Astrology

A separate practice in its own right, determinations of fate through reading of the heavens and making calculations based on the visible stars and other bodies at specific times. The sun-sign one is born under is said to steer their life path somewhat, but many other factors are considered when attempting specific predictions.

Body Fluids

The reader or supplicant supplies some form of body fluid, which is spilled and the resulting patterns or shapes are interpreted in answer to any question asked. Common substances include blood, urine, spit, and bile. Rare variants examine the size shape and number of kidney stones of gallstones.

Card Reading

The exact composition of such decks of cards, the symbols used, and layouts or spreads used for interpretation vary widely between cultures and from individual card readers. The process involves a supplicant asking a question, and the reader divining an answer to the question through the sequence and placement of the cards.

Casting Tokens

The reader will cast down a number of tokens marked with symbols, or unmarked tokens which form greater patterns themselves and interpret the results in answer to a question asked by the supplicant. Objects used in this method can vary and may include things like dice, bones, twigs, bamboo sticks, melon seeds, wood chips, stone or clay tiles, pebbles, or shells.

Crystal Gazing

The reader gazes into a crystal sphere or large crystal point while engaging in a question and answer session with the supplicant, interpreting visions said to arise within the object.

Dreams and Visions

The reader listens to a recounting of dreams or drug induced visions of the supplicant and interprets the secret symbolism within. Some readers also engage in trances to produce visions of their own, with or without psychoactive drugs and answers questions asked by interpreting the resulting visions.

Offal

The supplicant asks a question and chooses a small animal to sacrifice. The reader then spills the entrails of the sacrificial animal and interprets various details found in the offal.

Palms

The reader examines the hands of the supplicant and interprets the various lines and creases thereon. A consensus amongst such palm readers has created a sort of map of the typical palm, with common interpretations of certain features.

Sai Leaves

The supplicant drinks a specially prepared sai, from loose chopped leaves. The residue left in the cup forms shapes and patterns which the reader interprets in answer to the question asked.

Smoke and Fire

The reader observes the random dance of smoke or flames from slow burning incense or other substances. Tossing certain powders or flammable substances into the flames may be done at the asking of a question to provide a dramatic shift in the colour and quality of the smoke.

Weather

Making predictions based on weather phenomena is often practised in maritime locales. The winds, clouds, and other factors such as counting strikes of lightning during storms are all considered. Often this is jsut to predict the future weather itself, but some believe deeper predictions of fate can be divined.

Susuration

Counting numbers of fish in a school, animals in a herd, or birds in a flock, as well as observing the ebb and flow of their movements. Readers attempt to divine deeper meaning from the susuration of such large groups of animals.

Magical Methods

Psionics

The psionic path of Augury offers some glimpse into the potential fate of people and objects. Results of such prediction are generally more accurate within shorter time frames, and subject to alteration based on the fore-knowledge granted. The talents so employed still require one to observe patterns and derive greater meaning from the observations amde.

Sorcery

Sorcerers, notably of the Spirit Convocation may have created spells which attempt to produce accurate predictions of future events. These success of such is subject to the sorcerer's own skill. Even accurately predicted events may be altered by the nature of fore-knowledge.

Theurgy

Devotees of certain deities may now rituals or prayers that seek divine aid in revealing some future events. The results are symbolic and the interpretation of such answers is highly subjective and personal to the supplicant.

Persons

Dorn Okar (fortune teller)

See Also

Astrology