Do I Really Want to Have My Fortune Told?

by | Mar 2, 2014 | China, Culture, fortune-tellers | 23 comments

photo courtesy of Nomadic Lass

photo courtesy of Nomadic Lass

Horoscopes and fortune cookies.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m as curious as the next person about the future. I read my horoscope in the Seattle Times almost every Sunday, vaguely looking for some words of wisdom meant just for me. And then, almost immediately afterward, I forget the generic advice offered to the millions of people born between April 20 and May 20.

I’m also a sucker for fortune cookies. It’s all about the fortune—that little scrap of paper someone in Chinatown stuffed inside: “You’re going to take a trip,” or “An old friend is coming to town.” I know, it doesn’t mean a thing. And yet, that little fortune adds something pleasant to the crunchy mouthful of flour and sugar.

Serious fortune-tellers.

image courtesy of Emily Hill

image courtesy of Emily Hill

Newspaper horoscopes and fortune cookies aren’t serious enough to worry me. But numerology, psychics, and readers of tarot cards and palms are different. They claim to know definite information about your future, and whether you believe in what they say or not, you’ve heard the prediction and now it’s stuck in your head. A worry or an expectation. A worm in the brain that won’t let go.

And at night when you’re trying to fall asleep, you can’t help wondering if that psychic or that tarot card reader really knows your fate. They might. There’s so much we don’t fully understand about life, death, consciousness, time …

A pregnant mother’s dream.

The Bible is full of dreams and interpreters of dreams.  In the Old Testament, for example, Joseph dreams of his brothers in the form of sheaves that bow down to him. Jacob dreams of a ladder climbing to Heaven. In the New Testament, the Wise Men learn in a dream to avoid Herod on their way back home, and another Joseph is told in a dream that he shouldn’t be afraid to take Mary as his wife.

tigers2Interpreting dreams is also part of China’s culture. My Chinese mother-in-law dreamed of tigers when she was pregnant with my late husband. The tigers, along with the other characters in her dreams, were seen as auspicious signs for my husband’s life. She told him about the dreams when he was old enough to understand. The dreams and their interpretation stuck with him for the rest of his life, contributing, I suspect, to his confidence.

But what if her dreams had foretold nothing but suffering and failure? How would that have affected him? Of course maybe, being an optimist, he simply would have discounted any prediction that didn’t suit his innately positive attitude toward life.

How determined is our destiny?

How free is our free will?

Maybe these questions are too big for the closing paragraphs of today’s post. And yet, they lie beneath the surface of any discussion of fortune-tellers. If we side with John Calvin in the great theological debate about predestination and free will, our destiny is settled, and the fortune-teller is merely clueing us in.

I prefer to side with Thomas Aquinas. I like to think that what I choose does make a difference, that despite all the circumstances that are beyond my control, I do have free will. Life is full of surprises, and I look forward to being surprised, one day at a time and to making choices that affect the way my future will eventually turn out.

I suppose that’s why, although I’m curious about the future, I do shy away from fortune-tellers.

Are some forms of fortune-telling or dream interpretation popular in your culture? Have you personally been to a fortune-teller? How did that affect you?

my signature

23 Comments

  1. Ankita Jaiswal

    Fun! I don’t think one can have too many trips, especially if it is for enjoyment. Great post.
    My friend and I went to a fortune teller when we were really young. It was at a local festival, so I don’t know the background of the fortune teller. But my friend was told she would travel the world and have a very exciting life. In reality, she became a travel agent, but I don’t think she has traveled much at all out of the country. My fortune was that I probably wouldn’t leave where I grew up, wouldn’t get married and would have a very ordinary life. Well, I have traveled to many different countries and I love experiencing and learning about different cultures. I’m married to a wonderful man who loves to get out and explore, and we have made many good memories.

    Interesting how the fortunes turned out.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Your fortune teller’s predictions couldn’t have been more wrong. I’ll be glad when COVID is brought under control and we can all travel.

      Reply
  2. CMSmith

    This is interesting to think about. I shy away from fortune tellers too. I think it is a good thing that we can’t see what’s coming. Especially considering the way all of our stories eventually end. I don’t think I believe in predestination, that assumes a lot of other beliefs as well that I am currently questioning. But it is all interesting to think about. Perhaps someday we’ll know a lot more–or perhaps the fact that we don’t know more is the answer that there is no more. It’s a mystery.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Even though it doesn’t make sense that a fortune teller could know the future, and even though we’re probably better off not knowing what’s coming, curiosity about the future is a powerful force. A mystery keeps us turning the pages.

      Reply
  3. Eileen黃愛玲

    My husband and I got our fortune read and it was pretty accurate in Taiwan. She somehow used science involved in it. The way she told our fortune was different than any other place I have been to. She said that the choices we make sometimes change course. That is why one week, you get your fortune read but end the month you can make a split second decision that changes the entire course. It’s more for “advice,” and “reference.” For an example, “Is it better for me so stay in Taiwan or move to China?” “Which two jobs should I take?” She was dead on with all those. She did give my husband a whole new point of view and it’s up to you what you do with it once you walk out the door. When we moved to China, wow, she was spot on.

    Side note: A fortune teller said to my husband when was little that the first marriage will fail and the second one will become successful. I am his second marriage. There you go. 😀

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      It sounds like you found a wise fortune-teller, Eileen. I’m so glad you’re happy with your move to China. And how lucky for you that you’re your husband’s second wife.

      Reply
  4. Betty Dravis

    I don’t believe in fortune-telling, either, but it is a fun conversation piece. And I truly enjoyed reading a preview of TIGER TAIL SOUP. Nicole, you are a marvelous writer and it’s delightful knowing more about the Chinese culture… Oh, and your art is amazing also. Best with all your outstanding works. Hugs – Betty Dravis

    Reply
  5. nrhatch

    While I think that some things are “meant to be” or “in the cards” . . . I believe that the day to day choices we make affect the life we live.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      I think you’re a person who makes it a point to choose how you will live each day. Some people are more likely to go with the flow.

      Reply
  6. Jocelyn Eikenburg

    I’ve been to a fortune teller…and while I didn’t necessarily believe in it, the predictions were so eerily spot on I was just stunned. Pretty much everything he has said has come true! But mostly, I found the experience empowering, b/c he explained I have the ability to turn bad luck into something good — which is definitely a handy quality to have and one I always remember, thanks to the experience!

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      The ability to turn bad luck into something good is a wonderful thing to have and such a positive way to look at life. I too have been to a fortune teller who predicted some surprising things that actually came to pass. It makes you wonder.

      Reply
  7. CrazyChineseFamily

    When I was younger I kind of believed more or less all this fortune stuff. However in my case it was more about certain actions I do a day so I was not far away anymore in developing a serious OCD but thankfully everything changed.
    Now I don’t believe it at all, though sometimes I still read my horoscope once in a while for fun

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      You bring up an interesting point. Attempting to avoid bad luck could cause a person to be obsessive and compulsive about many things. This is one of the things I was talking about. I don’t believe that 13 is bad luck, but I admit that I remember that it’s SUPPOSED to be bad luck, and I wonder if that influences me on Friday the 13th.

      Reply
  8. evelyneholingue

    Like you, I prefer Aquinas to Calvin, although I think that each of us has a special talent or role to play on earth. Hopefully we pay attention and discover our uniqueness early enough in our lives so we don’t leave with too many regrets. I’ve never been to a fortune teller, but I recently met an astrologist through a common friend. She offered to give me a full personality profile based on my date, place and time of birth. I haven’t received the info yet but I’m kind of intrigued…

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      These days it’s not the Calvinists who preach a sort of predestination. It’s the neuroscientists. They say we don’t have free will. Whatever we do or did, our brains made us do it. I suppose that means no one is guilty of anything, and we can tear down our jails. My daughter, the lawyer, will be out of work. Hmm. I don’t buy it, though.

      Reply
  9. Hari Qhuang

    Nicki, you just gave me an idea of writing a short post about weird methods of divination ala Indonesian folks. L-O-L!

    I live in a rather traditional, superstitious town (typical! LOL!). We know many divination methods. Some tell you short term stuff, some will tell you information that you should pay attention to for the rest of your life.

    Every year, many of our local Chinese folks go to the temple on the second week of CNY to do kau cim (see this wikipedia page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kau_cim).

    I do not really believe in it if it says nice things. I will pay attention if it tells me potential dangers and stuff like that. 😀

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      Hari, I look forward to reading your post on this subject. It’s interesting that you don’t believe the nice things, but you pay attention to the dangers that are predicted for you.

      Reply
      • Hari Qhuang

        It is very hard to interpret the “poem” written inside the small paper we get from Kau-Cim.

        The poems that sound positive are harder to interpret (lots of misinterpretations – when one read the poem by the end of the year, the meaning usually becomes very clear). It had given false hope to many people I know.

        The warnings are usually more to the point. It had saved me many times in the past. 😀

        Reply
  10. Maureen Rogers

    Very thought-provoking, Nicki. I enjoyed this article. Can’t wait to read your book!
    -Maureen

    Reply
  11. katecrimmins

    I don’t believe in fortune tellers or horoscopes or any of that. Life often gives you two paths and you get to chose the path. That path takes you down a road so I believe you have a choice. I had a choice of working for two different companies and the one I chose introduced me to my husband. Had I chosen the other one, things would have been different. That said, I do think that intuitive people can tell the past. Many of us unintentionally wear our baggage, positive and negative, every day. I suppose that’s called profiling.

    Reply
    • Nicki Chen

      We Americans have so many opportunities. Maybe that’s why it’s easy for us to believe that we make our own lives with our choices. I suppose if our lives were controlled by circumstances beyond our control, we’d be more likely to invoke fate.

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your favorite bookstore.

Archives

Follow Me

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Loading
Available on Amazon

Archives