Fortune Telling

I first had a taste of fortune telling at 12. Our household helper at that time claims she knows palmistry. I excitedly showed her my palm. She turned my hand sideways, brushed it with her thumb and announced, “ne, maikli lifeline mo, baka hanggang 30 years old ka lang”.

Many people want to get a glimpse of their future, an idea of the present reality and an analysis of their past.

Two years ago, my goddess friends and I marched to Tandang Sora in Quezon City to have our fortunes read just for kicks. We met Ate Baby, the manghuhula, who once did continuous reading for two hours off-cam for some TV show. It drained her and she says it’s not good. Exhaustion reduces the accuracy of the reading. Before a session, Ate Baby says, the fortuneteller should have had enough rest or sleep. Ideally, she must not do many sessions in a day.

If you’re heading to Quiapo, maybe you should schedule it in the morning when your reader isn’t tired. Imagine those fortunetellers sitting under the heat and noisy sidestreet, and when she announces “you will not pass the board exam” or “your future boyfriend’s name starts with Z” you believe her!

Ate Baby prefers to remain “underground” because she is a homemaker first and only does fortune telling by request and by referral. At 8am, our session started. Ako ang unang sinalang.

She used four methods of divination (if that’s how they call it in their world): numerology, cartomancy, palmistry and molescopy.

Numerology. She took my full name and the name of the person I love (or the person you think you may have a future with). She did some subtraction, addition and all those sorts they call math which I hate. After a while, she will tell you the result whether you are compatible with that person or not.

Tarot Card

Cartomancy. She used three types of playing cards – Regular, Tarot and Oracle. At that time, I didn’t know that she was doing all types of spread and that they represent something until I read Wikipedia. Ya see, I was listening intently to her interpretations. It was my first time in cartomancy. Most of the time, Ate Baby used Wheel of Fortune and Celtic Cross. She asked us to mix our own cards because the cards we pick and the results are dependent on our pulse. 

Palmistry. If your husband cheated on you and you’re now in your second marriage, yes, blame it on your lines. LOL! (GG, care to tell us about it?) Your fate is in your hands, the proverb of the palmists. Hey, if you want to do some personal palm reading, just holler and I’ll send you a copy.

Molescopy. I don’t remember Ate Baby doing this to me, but she did to CG. CG has a prominent mole at the back of her hand, which Ate Baby says means authority and power. Or sumthin, CG? Well, I don’t have any “nunal na buhay”.

Fortune telling gives you results on these basics – love life, surprise and future, emotions and personality, career or studies, luck, travel, possible outcome of your actions, financial and health.

My officemate says, be careful when thinking about the results of the session. What you are starting to believe, which the fortuneteller said will happen, might actually come into reality if you focus on it. Those are live energies.

Personally, I believe that the results have an ounce of truth in them. Ate Baby “guessed” some true things about my past and some realities of my present life, so some of my future she saw may be true as well. The results, I think, are actual manifestations of our feelings and thoughts during the session, which we transmit “invisibly” to the reader and the tool she’s using – cards for example. And the reader is only the interpreter. Thus somehow, they may have a drop of accuracy.

By the way, this short lifeline thing in my palm, guess what? I’m still breathing.