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A Comparative Analysis of Fortune Telling andDivination, Chinese Perspectives, and TarotBy: Benebell WenTarot Deck Pictured: Tarot of the Holy Light by Christine Payne-Towler (Noreah Press)Is there any value to making a distinction between fortune telling and divination? Howmight Chinese perspectives compare to or inform Western perspectives? This free video(or audio) lecture will examine the etymological origins of ‚fortune telling‛ and‚divination‛ in the Chinese language, apply medieval esoteric Taoist texts to tarotreading, and propose a theoretical framework through which to read tarot, as either afortune teller or a diviner, though the two are not mutually exclusive.Lecture first presented at the San Francisco Bay Area Tarot Symposium 2015Free video lecture online: https://youtu.be/16zKL7j97c0
Learning Mandarin Chinese算命Fortune Tellingsuàn mìngExamples. Natal astrology; Palmistry; Face reading算命suànmìngCount; calculate; tally; to compute; to regardas. Etymology: 目 (counting rods); 竺 radical(bamboo).Fate; one’s life; one’s lot in life. Etymology:Compound of 會 (accounting for) and 意(aspirations); 口 (open mouth; receive); 令(order; command; decree).算盘打算盘命运命令suàn pándǎ suàn panmìng yùnmìng lingAbacusCalculategains and losses.DestinyFateCommandMandateDictate[Literal translation.Calculate on an abacus.]算法算式命运注定suàn fǎsuàn shìmìng yùn zhù dingAlgorithmArithmeticA 生命suàn guàsuàn zisheng mìngduó qù sheng mìngTell FortunesFortune TellerLifeDevitalize
Learning Mandarin Chinese卜筮DivinationExamples. I Ching bibliomancy; Oracle sticks (簽筒; qiān tǒng) alsoknown as kau cim fortune sticks, Chi Chi sticks, Oracle of Kuan Yin;Jiao Bei (筊杯), or divination moon blocks.bǔ shì卜筮bǔshìDivine; foretell; prophesize. Historic Note.Divination with tortoise shells. Etymology. 卜radical (prophesy or prophecy).卜辞卜课bǔ cíbǔ kèOracle BoneDivination(Shang Dynasty)A DivinationSession卜数占卜bǔ shùzhān bǔTo Cipher aProphesyTo DivineHistoric Note. Divination with yarrow stalks.Etymology. 巫 radical (spirit communicator;medium; shaman; magus; sorceress; witch);竺 radical (bamboo).巫婆巫wū pówūWise Woman(Female Witch)Witch; ShamanSorcerer; One WhoCommunicatesWith Spirit(s)[Implies one who ismore advanced in age.]Compare:占卦zhān guàDivination八卦bā guàBa GuaEight Trigrams
Metaphysical Implications of Fortune TellingFortune tellers are not typically affiliated with a specific religion, even if theythemselves may be religious personally. Instead, their skill of fortune telling is seen asone that was studied, developed, and practiced. Furthermore, due to their innate abilityto connect to metaphysical energy (or supernatural entities), such energy is oftenunwittingly harnessed during fortune telling sessions. ‚playing god‛ (role of healer, shaman) analysis of a fixed fate source of knowledge: the practitioner; egoS SeekerP Practitioner opinion ‚I do not support fortune-telling and I do not believein future-telling. My approach to tarot is notpredictive. It is analytic. Using tarot for fortunetelling cannot solve problems. In fact, I believe itcreates more problems, because fortune-tellingmanipulates our expectations.‛ –Holistic TarotThe metaphysical mechanics of fortune telling is akin to the physical laws ofthermodynamics, i.e., law of conservation of energy, where energy can be neithercreated nor destroyed. Instead, it changes forms and flows from one place to another.Likewise, a practitioner is harnessing energy from somewhere, often from a source notreadily known to the practitioner, channeled to assist the seeker.“All Seeing Eye”I possess the ability to See.I know the future. I know you.I am Divine.Study the Self To Know the Universe
Metaphysical Implications of DivinationDiviners are typically affiliated with a specific religion or magical lineage. They holdthemselves out as being religious and practice their divinations within the scope ofmetaphysical beliefs subscribed to by their religion or lineage. Their skills are oftentaught to them, passed down from a master or teacher. Typically, safeguards are taughtso the diviner is cognizant of where exactly energy is being sourced from. ‚kneeling before the Hierophant‛ revelation; ‚holding up the lantern‛ source of knowledge: spirits; divineS SeekerP Practitioner opinion Teaching divination was not the objective of myfirst book Holistic Tarot. My objective was toinstruct on tarot in a way that would facilitatemastery. The spiritual art of divination is not oneyou learn from a book; divination is whathappens naturally once you have mastered tarot.The metaphysical mechanics of divination requires submission to a divine entity andenergy is being transferred from that divine through the practitioner, who serves as amedium, to assist the seeker. The energy that the diviner is using is believed, on faith, tobe known, to come from that divine source.“Spirit Communicator”I possess the ability to Connect.I read signs and omens.The Divine speaks to me.Study the Universe To Know the Self
Fortune Telling Theory vs. Divination Theory
“All Seeing Eye”I possess the ability to See.I know the future. I know you.I am Divine.“Mediator, Communicator”I possess the ability to Connect.I read signs and omens.The Divine speaks to me.Study the Self To Know the UniverseStudy the Universe To Know the Self
Western Approaches to Fortune Telling vs. DivinationNo Apparent Distinction between Fortune Telling and Divination‚I shall therefore confine myself to examiningbriefly into what relates to their most ancientform, the Tarot, or Tarocchi Cards, and togiving, as clearly and concisely as possible,instructions which will enable my readers toutilise them for fortune-telling. . . . I shallnow give several modes of laying out thecards for divination.‛S. L. MacGregor MathersThe Tarot (1888)‚The Gypsies possess a Bible, which hasproved their means of gaining a livelihood,for it enables them to tell fortunes; at thesame time it has been a perpetual source ofamusement, for it enables them to gamble.Yes; the game of cards called the Tarot, whichthe Gypsies possess, is the Bible of Bibles. It isthe book of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, thebook of Adam, the book of the primitiveRevelation of ancient civilizations. . . . Lastly,we will do our best to explain the elements ofdivination by the Tarot as practised by theGypsies.‛Papus (Gérard Encausse)The Tarot of the Bohemians (1892)(as translated by A. P. Morton)‚These interpretations are comparable inevery respect to the divinatory and fortunetelling meanings with which I shall have todeal in their turn.‛A. E. WaiteThe Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910)(‚fortune telling‛ and ‚divination‛ usedinterchangeably)‚It is also widely believed that the idea ofplaying games with cards was an afterthought and that their original purpose wasfor the practice of divination. . . . It is thoughtby many that we owe our cards to the gipsies,who are supposed to have been the offspringof a low caste of Hindus, and who, drivenfrom their own land, found their way, asfugitives, through Western Asia into Egypt,and from Northern Africa into Europe. It iscertain that all kinds of fortune-telling,whether by Cartomancy or whatever method,are inseparably connected with that curious,fascinating, highly gifted and elusive people. . . So when the fortune-tellers of the twentiethcentury take a pack of cards and proceed toread the mysteries revealed therein, they arefollowing the example of the wise men ofChaldea, Egypt, and China, the Flowery Landof the East, to say nothing of their Europeanpredecessors. Divination by cards, therefore,is of great antiquity and of world-widepopularity.‛P.R.S. FoliFortune-Telling by Cards (1915)
Distinction Made Between Fortune Telling and Divination‚This operation of the qabalistic sages,originally intended to discover the rigorousdevelopment of absolute ideas, degeneratedinto superstition when it fell into the hands ofthe ignorant priests and the nomadicancestors of the Bohemians who possessedthe Tarot in the Middle Ages; they did notknow how to employ it properly, and used itsolely for fortune-telling.‛Eliphas LeviThe Key of the Mysteries (1861)(as translated by Aleister Crowley)there is nothing you can do about it. Except Idon’t have to go on that cruise. I don’t have tosuffer that fate. Predictions given in fortunetelling are true only if we don’t change ourdirection in life. I prefer the termdivination, meaning ‘to make divine.’ Whenyou achieve a state wherein you can see (withor without the help of things such as Tarotcards) the possibilities, you can describe toyourself or others the path that is most likelyto be taken if the person being read forcontinues on his or her current path.‛Donald Michael Kraig‚For five centuries or more Tarot cards havebeen used in Europe, ostensibly for gamesand fortune-telling, but really [the cards are]to preserve the essentials of a secret doctrine.They form a symbolic alphabet of the ancientwisdom. . . . Tarot divination is not fortunetelling. The practice of fortune-telling isbased on the false notion that human life isgoverned by luck, chance, or fate—by obscurepowers that work outside the personality.True divination rests upon the occult truththat the causes of all events in human life arereally internal, proceeding from the Cause ofCauses—the Universal Intelligent Energy orLife-power.‛‚Divination vs. Fortune Telling‛(Llewellyn, 2012)Paul Foster CaseOracle of the Tarot (1933)‚I dislike the term ‘fortune telling.’ Itassumes that your future is foretold and thereis nothing you can do about it. For example, afortune might include that in May of this yearyou’re going to take an ocean cruise anddrown. This implies that such is your fate andDeck Pictured: Golden Universal (Lo Scarabeo)
Other Notable Quotes‚Then the first two suits (sceptres and cups) signify ‘good’ and the other two (swords andpentacles) mean ‘evil.’ Thus every card of the fifty-six indicates the presence of the principle ofactivity or passivity, of ‘good’ or ‘evil,’ arising either in man's will or from without. . . . Andthis makes the Tarot adaptable for fortune-telling. Thus, including the Kabala, Astrology,Alchemy and Magic, the Tarot makes it possible to ‘seek gold,’ ‘to evoke spirits,’ and ‘to drawhoroscopes,’ simply by means of this pack of cards.‛The Symbolism of the Tarot (1913)P. D. Ouspensky‚Divination is a practice or practical use of the universal system in a particular instance. Andso the universal may elucidate the particular and throw light down in the world ofphenomena, darkly veiled by the maya of matter.‛General Book of the Tarot (1930)A. E. ThierensFORTUNE TELLING AND DIVINATION WITH TAROTTarot as Fortune TellingTarot as DivinationMindset & Will: YOU possess the SIGHT SELF-CONFIDENCE in outcome You are ALL-KNOWINGMindset & Will: You CONNECT with the DIVINE FAITH in the greater PURPOSE A MEDIATOR OF KNOWLEDGEThe words spoken when your intent is fortunetelling holds weight as a form of powerfulmagic. As such magic, your words fix theseeker’s fate. Your words become, in effect, aspell you cast on the seeker to manifest thefate you have augured with your cards. Youtherefore become an integral part of thecharacter cast in the seeker’s play of life. Infortune telling, as a form of magic, you are acreator. Your intent is not to transmit amessage; your intent is to tell the seeker whatyou know, by virtue of being all-knowing.You tell the seeker what will happen, withoutan inspiration for creating change.The words spoken when your intent isdivination holds weight as a form of oracle, atranslated and transmitted message between ahigher Divinity and the seeker. Inpsychological terms, that can be congruouswith a heightened state of consciousness aftera transcendent experience, because yourheightened state of consciousness is whatconnects you to Divinity. Divination as a formof magic has a conductive value. You are aconductor of energy, not the creator. Youserve to connect seekers with Divinity so thatdivination will inspire them to create change.You present possibilities, not fixed fates.10
Image Source: Harvard University Fine Arts Library, Chinese Rubbings CollectionInscription of a Taoist Scripture, Huang Di Yin Fu Jing, 10th Century‚All manifestations in the universe can be generated by thepractitioner’s physical body, through the hand. The function isdetermined by the will of the practitioner. The mechanics isdetermined by the practitioner’s mind.‛‚Before every event, there areopportunitiesthatHeavenavails to the practitioner toexercise metaphysical force totransform the path of nature [orfate].‛UnknownTang Dynasty 618-907 A.D.黃帝陰符經 (Huang Di Yin Fu Jing)Classics of the Hidden TalismanClick on the above banner to learn more about my divinatory services.11
Benebell Wen is the author of Holistic Tarot and The Tao of Craft. She studies tarot, feng shui, the I Ching,numerology, and both Chinese and Hellenisic astrology. When not lecturing, teaching, or writing onmetaphysics, Wen practices law in California and New York. She currently works in venture capital. Wenis of Taiwanese descent and lives in Northern California with her husband, James, a financial analyst, andthe spirit of their beloved cat, Prince Marshall Rimbaud the Great. agram:@bellwenFacebook bellwen.comTwitter:@TarotanalysisYouTube Channel:youtube.com/c/BenebellWen12
thought and that their original purpose was for the practice of divination. . . . It is thought by many that we owe our cards to the gipsies, who are supposed to have been the offspring of a low caste of Hindus, and who, driven from their own land, found
