View source for Fortune-telling

{{short description|Practice of predicting information about a person's life}}
{{redirect|Fortune teller|the form of origami|Paper fortune teller|other uses|Fortune teller (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Шевченко Т. Г. (1841) Циганка-ворожка.jpg|thumb|''Gypsy Fortune-Teller'' (1841) by [[Taras Shevchenko]]]]
{{Paranormal}}

'''Fortune-telling''' is the spiritual practice of [[prediction|predicting]] information about a person's life.<ref name="Melton 2008">[[J. Gordon Melton|Melton, J. Gordon]]. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. {{ISBN|1-57859-209-7}}</ref> The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical with the practice of [[divination]]. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a [[religion|religious]] ritual, invoking deities or spirits, while the term fortune telling implies a less serious or formal setting, even one of [[popular culture]], where belief in occult workings behind the prediction is less prominent than the concept of [[suggestion]], spiritual or practical [[Advice (opinion)|advisory]] or [[Affirmations (New Age)|affirmation]].

Historically, [[Pliny the Elder]] describes use of the [[crystal ball]] in the 1st century [[Common Era|CE]] by soothsayers (''"crystallum orbis"'', later written in [[Medieval Latin]] by scribes as ''orbuculum'').<ref name=Pliny>{{cite book|author=Pliny the Elder|title=Caii Plinii Secundi Historiæ naturalis libri xxxvii, cum selectis comm. J. Harduini ac recentiorum interpretum novisque adnotationibus|date=1831|page=579|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HNkIAAAAQAAJ&q=%22orbis+crystallum%22|access-date=7 November 2015}} {{in lang|la}}</ref> Contemporary Western images of fortune telling grow out of [[Folklore|folkloristic]] reception of [[Renaissance magic]], specifically associated with [[Romani people|Romani]] people.<ref name="Melton 2008"/> During the 19th and 20th century, [[methods of divination]] from non-Western cultures, such as the [[I Ching]], were also adopted as methods of fortune telling in Western popular culture.

An example of divination or fortune telling as purely an item of pop culture, with little or no [[vestige]]s of belief in the occult, would be the ''[[Magic 8 Ball]]'' sold as a toy by [[Mattel]], or [[Paul the Octopus]], an octopus at the [[Sea Life Centres|Sea Life Aquarium]] at [[Oberhausen]] used to predict the outcome of matches played by the [[Germany national football team]].<ref>[[Associated Press]][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggx_QnW1NjU 6 July 2010]</ref> There is opposition to fortune telling in [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Baháʼísm]] and [[Judaism]] based on scriptural prohibitions against divination. Terms for one who claims to see into the future include ''fortune teller'', ''[[Crystal gazing|crystal-gazer]]'', ''spaewife'', ''seer'', ''soothsayer'', ''[[sibyl]]'', ''[[Clairvoyance|clairvoyant]]'', and ''[[Prophecy|prophet]]''; related terms which might include this among other abilities are ''[[oracle]]'', ''[[Augury|augur]]'', and ''visionary''. Fortune telling is dismissed by [[Skeptical movement|skeptics]] as being based on [[pseudoscience]], [[magical thinking]] and [[superstition]].

==Methods==
[[File:Enrique Simonet - La buenaventura.jpg|thumb|300px|''The Fortune Teller'', by [[Enrique Simonet]] (1899; canvas; [[Museo de Málaga]]), depicting a palm reading]]
[[File:Chart of the Hand.png|thumb|Chart of the hand]]
[[File:Anon-The screene of fortune here behold-Early-Harl5937271-E2 4 240 -p1.tiff|thumb|''The screene of fortune here behold'', fortune-telling game, c.1650–1750]]
[[File:Fortune Teller on the street of Japan (1914 by Elstner Hilton).jpg|thumb|Japanese fortune teller using the ''[[I Ching divination|I Ching]]'', 1914]]
Common methods used for fortune telling in Europe and the Americas include [[astromancy]], [[horary astrology]], [[pendulum]] reading, [[ouija|spirit board]] reading, [[tasseography]] (reading tea leaves in a cup), [[cartomancy]] (fortune telling with cards), [[tarot card reading]], [[crystallomancy]] (reading of a crystal sphere), and [[chiromancy]] (palmistry, reading of the palms). The last three have traditional associations in the popular mind with the [[Romani people|Roma]] and [[Sinti]] people.

Another form of fortune telling, sometimes called "reading" or "spiritual consultation", does not rely on specific devices or methods, but rather the practitioner gives the client advice and predictions which are said to have come from spirits or in visions:

* [[Aeromancy]]: by interpreting atmospheric conditions.
* [[Alectromancy]]: by observation of a [[rooster]] pecking at grain.
* [[Aleuromancy]]: by flour.
* [[Astrology]]: by the movements of celestial bodies.
* [[Astromancy]]: by the stars.
* [[Augury]]: by the flight of birds.
* [[Auramancy]] by someone's aura or feelings
* [[Four Pillars of Destiny|Bazi or four pillars]]: by hour, day, month, and year of birth.
* [[Bibliomancy]]: by books; frequently, but not always, religious texts.
* [[Cartomancy]]: by playing cards, [[tarot]] cards, or oracle cards.
* [[Ceromancy]]: by patterns in melting or dripping wax.
* [[Chiromancy]]: by the shape of the hands and lines in the palms.
* [[Chronomancy]]: by determination of lucky and unlucky days.
* [[Clairvoyance]]: by spiritual vision or inner sight.
* [[Cleromancy]]: by casting of lots, or casting bones or stones.
* [[Cold reading]]: by using visual and aural clues.
* [[Crystallomancy]]: by [[crystal ball]] also called [[scrying]].
* [[Extispicy]]: by the entrails of animals.
* [[Physiognomy|Face reading]]: by means of variations in face and head shape.
* [[Feng shui]]: by earthen harmony.
* [[Ventriloquism#Origins|Gastromancy]]: by stomach-based [[ventriloquism]] (historically).
* [[Geomancy]]: by markings in the ground, sand, earth, or soil.
* [[Hafez|Hafez fal]]: by poems of Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī
* [[haruspex|Haruspicy]]: by the livers of sacrificed animals.
* [[Horary astrology]]: the astrology of the time the question was asked.
* [[Hydromancy]]: by [[water]].
* [[I Ching divination]]: by yarrow stalks or coins and the [[I Ching]].
* [[Kau cim]] by means of numbered bamboo sticks shaken from a tube.
* [[Lithomancy]]: by stones or gems.
* [[Molybdomancy]]: by molten metal after dumped in cold water.
* [[Naeviology]]: by moles, scars, or other bodily marks.
* [[Necromancy]]: by the dead, or by spirits or souls of the dead.
* [[Nephomancy]]: by shapes of clouds.
* [[Numerology]]: by numbers.
* [[Oneiromancy]]: by [[dream]]s.
* [[Onomancy]]: by names.
* [[Onychomancy]]: by a form of palmistry looking at the fingernails.
* [[Palmistry]]: by lines and mounds on the hand.
* [[Parrot astrology]]: by parakeets picking up fortune cards
* [[Paper fortune teller]]: [[origami]] used in fortune-telling games.
* [[Pendulum]] reading: by the movements of a suspended object.
* [[Pyromancy]]: by gazing into fire.
* [[Rhabdomancy]]: divination by rods.
* [[Runecasting]] or [[Runic divination]]: by [[runes]].
* [[Scrying]]: by looking at or into reflective objects.
* [[Ouija|Spirit board]]: by planchette or talking board.
* [[Taromancy]]: by a form of cartomancy using tarot cards.
* [[Tasseography]] or [[tasseomancy]]: by tea leaves or coffee grounds.

==Sociology==
[[File:Gipsies Fortune telling Fac simile of a Woodcut in the Cosmographie Universelle of Munster in folio Basle 1552.png|thumb|[[Romani people|Romani]] fortune telling. Facsimile of a woodcut in ''[[Cosmographia universalis]]'' of [[Sebastian Münster]]]]
Western fortune tellers typically attempt predictions on matters such as future romantic, financial, and childbearing prospects. Many fortune tellers will also give "character readings". These may use [[numerology]], [[graphology]], [[palmistry]] (if the subject is present), and [[astrology]]. {{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In contemporary [[Western culture]], it appears that women consult fortune tellers more than men.<ref>Blécourt, Willem de; Usborne, Cornelle. (1999). ''Women's Medicine, Women's Culture: Abortion and Fortune telling in Early Twentieth-Century Germany and the Netherlands''. ''[[Medical History (journal)|Medical History]]'' 43: 376–392.</ref> Some women have maintained long relationships with their personal readers. Telephone consultations with [[psychic]]s grew in popularity through the 1990s, and by the 2010s additional contact methods such as email and videoconferencing also became available, but none of these have completely replaced traditional in-person methods of consultation.<ref>Burton, Valentina. The Fortune Teller's Guide to Success: Creating a Wonderful Career as a Psychic. 2011; Lucky Mojo Curio Co. (revised) Fourth Edition 2018.</ref>

==Children's fortune-telling games==
{{main|Children's fortune-telling games}}

Children's fortune-telling games are informal activities that mimic traditional divination practices, often serving as a form of play rather than serious attempts to predict the future. These games are prevalent in various cultures and have been documented in folklore studies.{{Example needed|date=August 2025}} They are often played with simple objects like folded paper or pencils like [[MASH (game)|MASH]] and [[Paper fortune teller|Cootie Catchers]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

==As a business==
[[File:PsychicBoston.jpg|upright|thumb|left|Storefront [[psychic]] fortune teller in [[Downtown Crossing|Boston]]]]

Discussing the role of fortune telling in society, Ronald H. Isaacs, an American [[rabbi]] and author, opined, "Since time immemorial humans have longed to learn that which the future holds for them. Thus, in ancient civilization, and even today with fortune telling as a true profession, humankind continues to be curious about its future, both out of sheer curiosity as well as out of desire to better prepare for it."<ref>Isaacs, Ronald H. Divination, Magic, and Healing the Book of Jewish Folklore. Northvale N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1998. pg 55</ref> Although soothsayers were viewed as prized advisers in ancient and premodern civilizations such as the [[Assyria]]ns, they lost respect and reverence during the [[Age of Enlightenment]] in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref name="Zane 1994">{{Harv|Zane|1994}}</ref>

With the rise of commercialism, "the sale of occult practices [adapted to survive] in the larger society," according to sociologists [[Danny Jorgensen|Danny L.]] and Lin Jorgensen.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=376}}</ref> [[Ken Feingold]], writer of "Interactive Art as Divination as a Vending Machine," stated that with the invention of money, fortune telling became "a private service, a commodity within the marketplace".<ref name="Feingold 1995 399">{{Harv|Feingold|1995|p=399}}</ref>

As [[John Peder Zane|J. Peder Zane]] wrote in ''The New York Times'' in 1994, referring to the [[Psychic Friends Network]], "Whether it's 3 P.M. or 3 A.M., there's [[Dionne Warwick]] and her psychic friends selling advice on love, money and success. In a nation where the power of crystals and the likelihood that angels hover nearby prompt more contemplation than ridicule, it may not be surprising that one million people a year call Ms. Warwick's friends."<ref name="Zane 1994"/>

===Clientele===
In 1994, the psychic counsellor Rosanna Rogers of [[Cleveland]], Ohio, explained to J. Peder Zane that a wide variety of people consulted her: "[[Couch potatoes]] aren't the only people seeking the counsel of psychics and astrologers. Clairvoyants have a booming business advising Philadelphia bankers, Hollywood lawyers and [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]'s of [[Fortune 500]] companies... If people knew how many people, especially the very rich and powerful ones, went to psychics, their jaws would drop through the floor."<ref name="Zane 1994" /> Rogers "claims to have 4,000 names in her [[rolodex]]."<ref name="Zane 1994"/>

[[Janet Lee (Psychic)|Janet Lee]], also known as the Greenwich psychic, claims that her clientele often included Wall Street brokers who were looking for any advantage they could get. Her usual fee was around $150 for a session but some clients would pay between $2,000 and $9,000 per month to have her available 24 hours a day to consult.<ref name=wallstreetjournal>{{cite news |last1=Kadet |first1=Anne |title=In Greenwich, Where Money Is No Object |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-greenwich-where-money-is-no-object-1394241524 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=8 March 2014 |access-date=31 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112094221/https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-greenwich-where-money-is-no-object-1394241524 |archive-date=12 November 2017}}</ref>

===Typical clients===
In 1982, [[Danny Jorgensen]], a professor of Religious Studies at the [[University of South Florida]] offered a spiritual explanation for the popularity of fortune telling. He said that people visit psychics or fortune tellers to gain self-understanding,<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=381}}</ref> and knowledge which will lead to personal power or success in some aspect of life.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=375}}</ref>

In 1995, Ken Feingold offered a different explanation for why people seek out fortune tellers:<ref name="Feingold 1995 399"/><blockquote>We desire to know other people's actions and to resolve our own conflicts regarding decisions to be made and our participation in social groups and economies. ... Divination seems to have emerged from our knowing the inevitability of death.  The idea is clear—we know that our time is limited and that we want things in our lives to happen in accord with our wishes. Realizing that our wishes have little power, we have sought technologies for gaining knowledge of the future... gain power over our own [lives].</blockquote>Ultimately, the reasons a person consults a [[divination|diviner]] or fortune teller depend on cultural and personal expectations.

===Services===
Traditional fortune tellers vary in methodology, generally using techniques long established in their cultures and thus meeting the cultural expectations of their clientele.

In the United States and Canada, among clients of European ancestry, [[palmistry]] is popular<ref name=clairvoyant>"[http://archive.thenorthernecho.co.uk/2000/10/27/188581.html Clairvoyant or counsellor? Meet the woman who walks a fine line.]" The Northern Echo. 27 October 2000.</ref> and, as with [[astrology]] and tarot card reading, advice is generally given about specific problems besetting the client.

Non-religious spiritual guidance may also be offered. An American clairvoyant by the name of Catherine Adams has written, "My philosophy is to teach and practice spiritual freedom, which means you have your own spiritual guidance, which I can help you get in touch with."<ref>Adams, Catherine. [http://litespirit.com/clair.html "What is Clairvoyance and What Can I Expect in a Session With Catherine?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218212202/http://litespirit.com/clair.html |date=18 December 2007 }}</ref>

In the African American community, where many people practice a form of folk magic called [[Hoodoo (folk magic)|hoodoo]] or rootworking, a fortune-telling session or "reading" for a client may be followed by practical guidance in spell-casting and Christian [[prayer]], through a process called "magical coaching".<ref>[http://www.readersandrootworkers.org/wiki/Category:Magical_Coaching_and_Spiritual_Advice "Magical Coaching and Spiritual Advice are among the ancillary services offered by some diviners and root doctors. These consultation services are usually engaged on an hourly basis." – excerpt from an article on "magical coaching" at the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers web site]</ref>

In addition to sharing and explaining their visions, fortune tellers can also act like counselors by discussing and offering advice about their clients' problems.<ref name=clairvoyant/> They want their clients to exercise their own willpower.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=384}}</ref>

===Full-time careers===
[[File:7.13.08PointPleasantByLuigiNovi14.jpg|thumb|left|A fortune-telling storefront on the boardwalk in [[Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey]]]]
Some fortune tellers support themselves entirely on their divination business; others hold down one or more jobs, and their second jobs may or may not relate to the occupation of divining. In 1982, Danny L., and Lin Jorgensen found that "while there is considerable variation among [these secondary] occupations, [part-time fortune tellers] are over-represented in human service fields: counseling, social work, teaching, health care."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=377}}</ref> The same authors, making a limited survey of North American diviners, found that the majority of fortune tellers are married with children, and a few claim graduate degrees.<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=337}}</ref> "They attend movies, watch television, work at regular jobs, shop at K-Mart, sometimes eat at McDonald's, and go to the hospital when they are seriously ill."<ref>{{Harv|Jorgensen|Jorgensen|1982|p=387}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Legality==
[[File:Witchcraft laws.svg|thumb|300px|Witchcraft-related laws by country:
{{legend|#921c1c|Practice of magic is illegal}}
{{legend|#f22|Using witchcraft against another person is illegal}}
{{legend|#47a7fa|Accusing someone of being a witch is illegal}}
{{legend|#ca31f1|Pretending to be a witch and accusing someone of being a witch is illegal}}
{{legend|#f9b968|Practice of fortune-telling is illegal}}
{{legend|#40b650|Law repealed}}]]
{{See also|Legality of fortune-telling}}
In 1982, the sociologists Danny L., and Lin Jorgensen found that, "when it is reasonable, [fortune tellers] comply with local laws and purchase a business license."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> However, in the [[United States]], a variety of local and state laws restrict fortune telling, require the licensing or bonding of fortune tellers, or make necessary the use of terminology that avoids the term "fortune teller" in favor of terms such as "spiritual advisor" or "psychic consultant." There are also laws that outright forbid the practice in certain districts.

For instance, fortune telling is a class B [[misdemeanor]] in the state of [[New York (state)|New York]]. Under New York State law, S 165.35:
{{blockquote|A person is guilty of fortune telling when, for a fee or compensation which he directly or indirectly solicits or receives, he claims or pretends to tell fortunes, or holds himself out as being able, by claimed or pretended use of occult powers, to answer questions or give advice on personal matters or to exercise, influence or affect evil spirits or curses; except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.<ref>[http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS Leginfo.state.ny.us]</ref>}}

Lawmakers who wrote this statute acknowledged that fortune tellers do not restrict themselves to "a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement" and that people will continue to seek out fortune tellers even though fortune tellers operate in violation of the law. In the states of [[Minnesota]], [[North Carolina]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[Wisconsin]], all forms of fortune-telling are illegal.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://secularhumanism.org/2003/06/the-first-amendment-is-for-fortune-tellers-too/ | title=The First Amendment is for Fortune-tellers, Too &#124; Free Inquiry | date=2 June 2003 }}</ref>

In [[Australia]], fortune-telling is illegal in [[South Australia]] and the [[Northern Territory]].<ref>{{cite web | last1=Piper | first1=Alana | editor-first1=Lucy | editor-last1=Beaumont | url=https://theconversation.com/did-they-see-it-coming-how-fortune-telling-took-hold-in-australia-with-women-as-clients-and-criminals-130134 | title=Did they see it coming? How fortune-telling took hold in Australia - with women as clients and criminals | date=3 February 2020 | doi=10.64628/AA.qxau7ycp7 }}</ref>

[[Saudi Arabia]] also bans the practice outright, considering fortune telling to be sorcery and thus contrary to Islamic teaching and [[Shariah|jurisprudence]]. It has been punishable by death.<ref>[http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/04/01/fortune-teller-faces-execution-in-saudi-arabia/ Fortune Teller Faces Execution in Saudi Arabia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404123731/http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/04/01/fortune-teller-faces-execution-in-saudi-arabia/ |date=4 April 2010 }} [http://www.pattayadailynews.com ''pattayadailynews.com''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623144816/http://pattayadailynews.com/ |date=23 June 2021 }} 1 April 2010 retrieved 17 July 2010</ref>

In the [[United Kingdom]], there was The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 which prohibited a person from claiming to be a fortune teller in order to make money for another reason than the purpose of entertainment. This act was repealed in 2008, and replaced by The Consumer Protection Act.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Critical analysis==
[[File:Josephine and the Fortune-Teller 1837 David Wilkie.jpg|thumb|''[[Josephine and the Fortune-Teller]]'' by [[David Wilkie (artist)|David Wilkie]], 1837]]
Fortune telling is easily dismissed by critics as [[magical thinking]] and [[superstition]].<ref>Pronko, Nicholas Henry. (1969). ''Panorama of Psychology''. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. p. 18</ref><ref>Miller, Gale. (1978). ''Odd Jobs: The World of Deviant Work''. Prentice-Hall. pp. 66–68</ref><ref>Regal, Brian. (2009). ''Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia''. Greenwood. p. 55. {{ISBN|978-0-313-35507-3}}</ref>

Skeptic [[Bergen Evans]] suggested that fortune telling is the result of a "naïve selection of something that have happened from a mass of things that haven't, the clever interpretation of ambiguities, or a brazen announcement of the inevitable."<ref>[[Bergen Evans|Evans, Bergen]]. (1955). ''The Spoor of Spooks: And Other Nonsense''. Purnell. p. 16</ref> Other skeptics claim that fortune telling is nothing more than [[cold reading]].<ref>Cogan, Robert. (1998). ''Critical Thinking: Step by Step''. University Press of America. p. 212. {{ISBN|0-7618-1067-6}}</ref>

A large amount of [[fortune telling fraud|fraud]] has been proven in the practice of fortune telling.<ref>Steiner, Robert A. (1996). ''Fortunetelling''. In [[Gordon Stein]]. ''The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. pp. 281–290. {{ISBN|1-57392-021-5}}</ref>

Fortune telling and how it works raises many critical questions. For example, fortune-telling occurs through various methods such as psychic readings and tarot cards. Similarly, these methods are largely based on random phenomena. For example, astrologers believe that the movement of stars in the sky can have implications on one's life.<ref>Thagard, Paul R. (1978). ''Why astrology is a pseudoscience'' in ''The Philosophy of Science Association'', 1978 Volume 1, pp. 223–234.</ref> In the case of tarot cards, people believe that images displayed on the cards have significant meanings on their lives. However, there is a lack of evidence to support why such things, such as the stars, would have any implications on our lives.

Additionally, fortune-telling readings and predictions made by horoscopes, for example, are often general enough to apply to anyone. In cold reading, for example, readers often begin by stating general descriptions and continuing to make specifics based on the reactions they receive from the person whose life they are predicting.<ref name="Dutton, D.L. 1988 pp. 326-332">Dutton, D.L. (1988). ''The Cold Reading Technique'' in ''Experientia'', Volume 44, pp. 326–332</ref> The tendency for people to deem general descriptions as being representative to themselves has been termed the [[Barnum effect]] and has been studied by psychologists for many years.<ref name="Dutton, D.L. 1988 pp. 326-332"/>

Nonetheless, even with a lack of evidence supporting the various methods of fortune-telling and the many frauds that have occurred by psychic readers, amongst others, fortune-telling continues to become popular around the world. There are many reasons for the appealing nature of fortune-telling such as that people often experience stress when there is uncertainty and thus seek to gain deeper insight into their lives.

==See also==<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Chinese fortune telling]]
* [[Chinese spiritual world concepts]]
* [[Divination]]
* [[Divination in African traditional religion]]
* ''[[Flim-Flam!|Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and other Delusions]]''
* [[Fortune teller machine]]
* [[Kumari (goddess)|Kumari]]
* ''[[Ka-Bala]]'' board game
* [[Harry Houdini#Debunking spiritualists|Houdini's debunking spiritualists]]
* [[I Ching divination|''I Ching'' divination]]
* [[Bob Nygaard]] (psychic investigator)
* [[Peter Popoff#Investigation by James Randi|Peter Popoff investigated by James Randi]]
* [[Prophecy]]
* ''[[Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium]]''
* [[Rose Mackenberg]] (American investigator of psychic mediums)
* [[Tengenjutsu (fortune telling)|''Tengenjutsu'' (fortune telling)]]
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Citation
 | doi = 10.2307/1576224
 | last = Feingold
 | first = Ken
 | author-link = Ken Feingold
 | title = OU: Interactivity as Divination as Vending Machine
 | journal = [[Leonardo (journal)|Leonardo]]
 | volume = 28
 | issue = 5
 | series = Third Annual [[New York Digital Salon]]
 | year = 1995
 | pages = 399–402
 | jstor=1576224
| s2cid = 61727726
 }}
*Hughes, M., Behanna, R; Signorella, M. (2001). ''Perceived Accuracy of Fortune Telling and Belief in the Paranormal''. Journal of Social Psychology 141: 159–160.
*{{Citation
 | doi = 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1982.tb01019.x
 | last1 = Jorgensen
 | first1 = Danny L.
 | author1-link = Danny Jorgensen
 | last2 = Jorgensen
 | first2 = Lin
 | title = Social Meanings of the Occult
 | year = 1982
 | journal = The Sociological Quarterly
 | volume = 23
 | issue = 3
 | pages = 373–389
}}.
*{{Citation
 | last = Zane
 | first = J. Peder
 | title = Soothsayers as Business Advisers; You Are Going to Go on a Long Trip...
 | journal = [[The New York Times]]
 | date = 11 September 1994
 | url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE0DA163BF932A2575AC0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all#
}}.

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Fortune-telling}}

{{Divination}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune-Telling}}
[[Category:Divination]]
[[Category:Romani religion]]
[[Category:Fortune-telling| ]]