CONCLUSION
Given the nature of the possible answers these two tablets can yield, I can state definitively they are NOT the Fun Party Game type of divination tool. Not unless your party has a rather dark theme. They’re best for individual use, or in a small group of individuals among whom there is a healthy degree of trust. The Coiled Serpent’s prophecies, and the bad luck fortunes listed for The Mystic Tablet of the Gypsies can hit hard and cause distress, anxiety, or sometimes embarrassment, so you only want to use these tablets around people who’ll be supportive. Suggestion: look over the answer pages for both tablets of fate and ask yourself, ‘if any of these fortunes should chance to be the one I choose, are there any people I wouldn’t want to have in the room when it happens?’ Then make sure those people aren’t in the room when it happens.
I don’t think you’re necessarily locked into using a pointer with a tablet of fate. If you’re feeling experimental, or if the spirit moves you, you could try the same approaches you’d use if with a gyromancy chart or The Prophetic Coin. You know, set a top or a gyroscope loose on it and see where it travels or lands. Or hold a coin edge-wise over the chart and drop it to see if it lands on a particular number or letter. It may be your fate to have your coin or spinner land on more than one letter or number, and your fortune is some amalgamation of the fortunes connected to two or more characters. Of course, if the top/gyroscope just sails straight off the chart, or the coin bounces clear of any letter or number, that’s just as sure an answer as if the pointer had missed.
The ultimate value of a tablet of fate, or indeed any divination tool, lies in its accuracy and helpfulness to the user, not in its age or its source. Who created these tablets may always remain a mystery. But if my yes-and-no stone inquiries are correct, the Mystic Gypsy Tablet and the Coiled Serpent have been in use for over one hundred years, and may have helped a great number of people in that span of time. May you find them useful as well!
EXERCISES
- Choose your fortune using the Mystic Tablet. Note your answer and return to it in two weeks to a month. Did anything transpire which verified the fortune you drew, or was it a ‘miss’?
- Choose a fortune for someone you know, using the Mystic Tablet. Given what you know about this person, does this fortune sound true, or at least plausible? Note the answer you receive for this person and return to your notes in two weeks to a month. Did anything transpire in this person’s life which verified this fortune, was it a ‘miss’, or would you categorize it as ‘still to be determined’?
- Consult The Coiled Serpent tablet for any signs of trouble to come for you in the coming month. Note the answer you receive, if any, and return to your notes in 30 days. Did the misfortune or trouble it forecast for you actually transpire, or was it a ‘miss’?
- Consult The Coiled Serpent tablet for any signs of trouble to come for someone you know in the coming month. Note the answer you receive for this person and return to your notes in 30 days. Did anything transpire in this person’s life which verified the accuracy of this fortune, or was it a ‘miss’?
- EXTRA CREDIT: Employing your choice of tablet, try using a spinning object such as a top/gyroscope, or a coin a la the Prophetic Coin, on the tablet (use the full-page tablet for this, not the cut-down version). What was the result? Was it any different or the same as using a pointer? Note the answer you receive and return to it later. Was it accurate?
- Given your practice exercises with both tablets, what would you say was their rate of accuracy? Would you use either tablet again? Is there anyone to whom you would recommend these tablets? Is there anyone you think should avoid them?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Martin, Kevin. The Complete Gypsy Fortune Teller. New York: Putnam, 1970. Pp. 247-265.
