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Fortune Telling

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Fortune Telling
FORTUNE TELLING
On a Fortune Teller's Viewpoint

A Field Research
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Subject
English 28: Mythology and Folklore

May 2014

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Basic Information

Fortune-telling has been practiced for millennia. Humans have always yearned to know what the future has in store for us. Who doesn't want a glimpse — even if only for a few moments — of the cosmic plan to see if our destiny lies in riches or ruin?

Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life, often commercially. It is a form of superstition. Its roots can be traced back to ancient times (http://rationalwiki.org/wiki).

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 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 advisory or affirmation. Historically, fortune-telling grows out of folkloristic reception of Renaissance Magic specifically associated with gypsies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki).
B. Where Did Fortune Telling Originate?

When early humans began gathering in groups, these groups had shamans with uniquely individual forms of divination. . The Chinese, Aztecs, Vikings, and others had wise men who made predictions with fortune-telling tools (http://www.ehow.com/facts).

C. Types

There are many types of fortune-telling tools, including astrology, runes, tarot cards, and clairvoyance. Other types range from necromancy to seances (the most well-known example) to palmistry.

D. Typical clients

In 1982, Danny Jorgensen, a professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida offered a spiritual explanation for
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