SOME AFTERTHOUGHTS
This is another one of those divination tools which could serve well as a Fun Party Game. Halloween (or if you prefer, Samhain) is coming up and that’s a traditional time for divining the future. You could have all these tablets and their answer keys spread out on a various surfaces in the room and invite the guests to take their pick of tablets to consult. Because each tablet traditionally requires two people, the inquirer and someone to turn the chart, there’s group participation involved. Or, you could introduce them to your guests one at a time, MC-style. Below is a PDF I worked up in case you want to provide participants with a way of keeping track of the tablets they consulted and the answers they received:
I designed this answer sheet so that you can print-up copies and hand them out as whole sheets, or cut them in half, and hand them out as half-sheets. It might be interesting to get back together with participants in a month’s time and see how many of their answers came true–or not.
I printed out most of these tablets on good-quality, white paper stock, but got bored with that on the last few, and printed them on different-colored paper. You may want to do the same, either for visual interest, or to color-code your tablets when you print them out, for easier identification. You know, the love, romance and family-themed tablets on pink paper, the money, success and good-fortune type tablets on green or metallic paper, and so on. I deliberately printed out the Coiled Serpent in this set of magic tablets on green paper, the Mystic Circles on purple, and the Diamond on a nice, slightly-shiny paper I had on hand.
As for my personal experience with these, to show one example, I consulted the Wishing Ring tablet about a something I hoped would come true at some point in the future, and I consulted it twice, at different times, using different wording. Though it didn’t give me the sort of answers I’d hoped for, it gave me some idea of where the blockage is, and that is helpful.
But if that unknown fifteenth-century printer didn’t design these ‘magic tablets’ as a serious divination tool, intending them only as a diversion, then can they be taken seriously as a divination tool? Even if the anonymous printer didn’t purposely set out to create a divination tool, it’s the user’s attitude which makes the difference. You or any other users of these magic tablets can dismiss them as ‘just a game’ and walk away, if you choose. Just don’t be surprised if a fortune you chose on one or more of the tablets turns out to come true.
EXERCISES
- Choose anywhere from 3 to 5 of these tablets and try them for yourself. Note the answers you receive, then return to your notes anywhere from 30 to 45 days from now. Did any of them come true? What was the overall success-rate for the tablets you tried? Did they all predict accurately, or was only one of them on-target?
- Choose anywhere from 3 to 5 of these tablets and try asking the tablets about someone you know, instead of yourself. Did the tablets fully-cooperate, or did you have more misses, as if the tablets were saying ‘Nunya Bidnis’? Note the answers you received from the tablets for your subject and return to these notes anywhere from 30 to 45 days from now. Did any of them come true for this person, that you know of? What was the overall accuracy for the tablets you consulted about this person?
- Choose another tablet which really didn’t interest you enough to try in the first exercise. Give it a try and note the answer you receive. Did the answer surprise you, or was it about what you expected from this tablet?
- EXTRA CREDIT: Try these tablets in a group, possibly as a party activity. How was it different using these tablets in a group, as opposed to alone or with one other person? Was there a certain consistency to the answers, or were the answers people received dependent on the person asking?
- Given your experience with these ‘magic tablets’, answer the following questions: What are the benefits and drawbacks of this divination tool? Would you use this in tandem with another divination tool, or just as a stand-alone? Were the tablets’ answers helpful, or so general it really didn’t make a difference? In your opinion, is there any sort of person with whom these tablets would work best?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Showers, Paul, Fortune Telling for Fun and Popularity. New York: Newcastle Publishing, 1971. 372 p.