In Taiwan fortunetelling is a very lucrative business, if you possess the right skills. What makes a good fortune teller, people agree, is the ability to gain the customer’s trust. Why do people go to fortune tellers? It seems that lots of people really need someone to reassure them, provide advice, and listen to them. It also seems that a majority of those visiting fortune tellers are women. Does it make sense? I dunno, but being here in Taiwan, I have had my own fortunetelling experience in Tainan. I visited a temple and did “Cho chien”, 
where you first ask a question of the gods, then shake out a bamboo stick with a number, make sure the number is correct by tossing the kidney shaped wooden blocks, and then selecting an obscure poem that is interpreted to ‘read’ your fortune. A very interesting experience in all, but not so accurate for me. I see this kind of activity going on all the time in Taiwan; street fortune tellers are outside of night markets, temples, and along popular
shopping streets in the evenings- set up on crates, with a little electric lamp, their I-Ching and other reference texts laid out awaiting their next customer. Since many people in Taiwan are very superstitious, and trusting of these ‘professionals’, a lot of money can change hands depending on how strongly the customer feels about the advice or prediction given. One thing we discussed was the fact that some people don’t want to go to fortune tellers because they are confident, and feel their lives are going along just fine. Having ‘additional information’ about their future, etc. may affect that future negatively. Sounds like the old “If it ain’t broken, do
n’t fix it.” adage.
Another way of reading someone’s fortune and learning about their personality is palm reading. Palmistry attracts a lot of interest as a fun activity to do in a party or among friends. We talked about how interesting it is to look at someone’s palm and interpret a person’s character through the lines. During our discussion, we had a look at each other’s hands and tried to interpret each other’s lines. Everyone was interested in seeing and comparing each other’s hands. What did we learn? Not much, but it sure was a lot of fun.
Tarot cards have been used for hundreds of years in Europe and have become a popular fortune telling method all over the world. People can become very attached to their cards, and protect them as if they have a spirit of their own. One person said that her friend, who did tarot reading even slept with her tarot cards to get closer to them. Only a couple of us had had a tarot card reading and it seems that the info you can get is only valid for a short period of time.
where you first ask a question of the gods, then shake out a bamboo stick with a number, make sure the number is correct by tossing the kidney shaped wooden blocks, and then selecting an obscure poem that is interpreted to ‘read’ your fortune. A very interesting experience in all, but not so accurate for me. I see this kind of activity going on all the time in Taiwan; street fortune tellers are outside of night markets, temples, and along popular
shopping streets in the evenings- set up on crates, with a little electric lamp, their I-Ching and other reference texts laid out awaiting their next customer. Since many people in Taiwan are very superstitious, and trusting of these ‘professionals’, a lot of money can change hands depending on how strongly the customer feels about the advice or prediction given. One thing we discussed was the fact that some people don’t want to go to fortune tellers because they are confident, and feel their lives are going along just fine. Having ‘additional information’ about their future, etc. may affect that future negatively. Sounds like the old “If it ain’t broken, do
n’t fix it.” adage.Another way of reading someone’s fortune and learning about their personality is palm reading. Palmistry attracts a lot of interest as a fun activity to do in a party or among friends. We talked about how interesting it is to look at someone’s palm and interpret a person’s character through the lines. During our discussion, we had a look at each other’s hands and tried to interpret each other’s lines. Everyone was interested in seeing and comparing each other’s hands. What did we learn? Not much, but it sure was a lot of fun.
Tarot cards have been used for hundreds of years in Europe and have become a popular fortune telling method all over the world. People can become very attached to their cards, and protect them as if they have a spirit of their own. One person said that her friend, who did tarot reading even slept with her tarot cards to get closer to them. Only a couple of us had had a tarot card reading and it seems that the info you can get is only valid for a short period of time.
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