6 Ways People Try To Predict The Future

photographer: Monster Ménon: Artist Link

Like Donald Trump, the future tends to be unpredictable. Oftentimes, the most important and life-changing events in the world occur without warning. For instance, who could of guessed that Bruce Jenner would become a woman? Or that Ben Affleck would make such a great Batman? There are however, a select few among us to whom these revelations would not come as a surprise. Enlightened individuals who can see beyond the present, into the near or distant future. These are the seers, the prescient wielders of arcane knowledge known as forbidden arts. Here, I will look at some of the methods, both ancient and modern, for how humans attempt to predict the future.

1. Chiromancy

pronunciation: chi·ro·man·cy
kīrōˌmansē/

Etymology: chiromancy (n.) “divination by the hand, palmistry,” 1520s, from French chiromancie (14c.), from Medieval Latin chiromantia, from Late Greek kheiromanteia, fromkheiro-, comb. form of kheir “hand”

Also known as palmistry, palm reading and chirology, chiromancy is the ancient practice of examining the various folds and creases of the palm believed to reveal aspects of an individual’s personality, health and destiny. Practitioners are referred to as palmists, palm readers, hand readers, hand analysts, or chirologists. Forms of it have been found all over the world including Tibet, India, China, Persia, ancient Israel and Babylonia. From India it spread into Greece and was utilized by Alexander The Great to examine the character of his officers. Chiromancy experienced a revival in the modern era lead by an Irishman named William John Werner better known as Cheiro. Cheiro was a professional palm reader in London whose clients included high profile figures such as U.S. president Grover Cleaveland, author Oscar Wilde, inventor Thomas Edison and author Mark Twain. Cheiro was popular even among skeptics and Twain once wrote of Cheiro’s analysis saying he “…exposed my character to me with humiliating accuracy.”

The Chiromancy Guide

To read the palm, you begin with the dominant hand which is believed to represent the conscious mind. The opposite hand is believed to hold clues about hereditary traits and also information about the previous life. Chiromancy is not actually used for prognosis but it is believed that through examining the palm, negative recurring patterns can be identified and thus remediated thereby altering the course of an individual’s life path.

First, the hand shape is determined using chirognomy. Most palmistry traditions divide hand shapes into 4 major types: earth, fire, air, and water. The types correlate with the classical Greek temperaments sanguine, melancholic, phlegmatic, and choleric.

Earth hands are recognized as having broad, square palms and fingers with thick ruddy skin.
Air hands are characterized by broad, square palms with longer fingers, pronounced knuckles and low-set thumbs.
Water hands exhibit long, oval shaped palms with long fingers.
Fire hands have large square or rectangular palms with fingers that are relatively short.

When examining the palms, hand readers focus on the 3 major lines: the heart line, the head line and the life line along with a bundle of other minor lines including the fate line, and health line.

The Heart Line

The heart line represents matters of the heart, that of the emotional heart rather than the biological organ. It relates to love attraction and general feelings. The heart line is the crease found running across the upper-most part of the palm.

Long – Warm-hearted and emotionally open.
Short – Self centered.
Deep – Stressful life.
Straight – Aloof and emotionally detached.
Wavy – Promiscuity.
Curved – Very physical and emotionally intuitive.
Absent – Cold and ruthless.

The Head Line

The head line represents the mind, communication style and intellect. This line runs from the index finger beneath the heart line and curves down the palm towards the outer wrist.

Long – Indicates intelligence and strong memory.
Straight – Pragmatic and unimaginative.
Short – Direct and forthright.
Deep – Excellent memory and concentration.
Wavy – Restless and scatter-brained.
Absent – Mental laziness and inanition.

The Life Line

The life line is associated with major life events, vitality and general well being. It’s length is not tied to life span contrary to popular belief. This line forms an arc on the palm around the base of the thumb.

Long – Good health and vitality.
Deep – A smooth life path.
Faint – Uneventful life path.
Broken line – Tumultuous life path.
Absent – Highly strung and nervous.
Chained line – Susceptible to health and emotional problems.

The Fate Line

This line, also known as the destiny line, is centered at the base of the palm. It represents the life path to success and potential obstacles and impediments that may thwart the individual’s goals. It is associated with choices and major decisions and their outcomes. It can also indicate controlling forces in one’s life such as domineering family members and authority figures.

The Health Line

Having this line is believed to indicate a capacity for healing others and possibly the presence of illness in the family. It may also point to the individual’s own health and indicate an illness or recovery from past illnesses. It is located at the outer edge of the palm starting near the pinky finger and running diagonally towards the center of the wrist.

The Girdle of Venus

This line is a short arc at the base of the ring and middle fingers. It is associated with sensual excitability and deep sensitivity. A bipolar nature oscillating from extreme highs and lows along with nervousness and anxiety. A “V” shaped one is said to supposedly indicate homosexuality…?

2. Oneiromancy

Definition: (n.) divination by means of dream.

pronunciation: onei·ro·man·cy \ō-ˈnī-rə-ˌman(t)-sē\
etymology: oneiromancy (n.) 1650s; see oneiro- + -mancy.
Greek had oneiromantis “an interpreter of
dreams.”

Oneiromancy is one of the long “o” words in the dictionary. It is a form of divination by way of interpreting dreams. The idea of dream divination or that messages and omens from the divine are transmitted in the form of dreams is one that has existed for ages and has been found within almost every culture around the world. It is one of the oldest forms of divination and in the ancient societies of Greece, Babylonia, and Egypt, Oneiromancers held great political and social influence. These oneiromancers were hired by royals to decipher and unravel the encoded meaning behind their dreams. The interpretations were often provided in riddle form in case the dream itself was not confusing enough. The interpretations were documented on clay tablets or papyrus. The Egyptian Rammesside Dream Book is the oldest known oneirocritic document. It was found in the ancient Egyptian village of Deir el-Medina, near the Valley of the Kings. The document was written on papyrus parchment dated to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 B.C.). It was essentially an ancient dream dictionary, a compendium of 200 or so dreams and their perceived meanings.

The Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung believed in the collective unconscious that he believed was the latent psychological experience shared by the entire human race inherited from their ancestors during their phylogenetic development. It is a supposed primordial wisdom that is passed down with each successive generation, stored on the hidden hard drive of our minds accessible only from deep sleep and encrypted in the form of archetypal images and symbols that mystify us provided we’re lucky enough to even remember them at all. Jung seemed to believe that our minds are all inter-connected in a psychological network that not only endows us with the common symbolic language our minds all use but also a means of sharing telepathically, advice and counsel albeit through the encoded transmissions of our dreams.

Here is a brief list of dream symbols and their interpreted meanings.

Animals tend to represent our primitive survival instincts and connection with nature. Being chased by a predator implies you have repressed emotions such as fear or aggression.
Clothes convey something about our self image and how we want to be perceived by others. If your attire is tattered or bummy in your dream then it might suggest you are due for a lifestyle change.
Exams may indicate self-evaluation. The subject of the exam may reflect the area of your life or personality that is under scrutiny.
Death of a beloved in your dream might be an omen but not necessarily. It may also represent change such as the ending of one thing and the beginning of a new thing. It may also be a part of the grieving process following the loss of a loved one.
Falling relates to our fear of letting go or losing control, being left behind or failing.
Food is believed to represent knowledge and intellectual enrichment. Brain food. But it could also be just be that you’re hungry.
Demons personify repressed and unresolved negative emotions. Your subconscious might be telling you to change for your own good.
Killing in your dreams does not necessarily signify latent murderous intent. It may reveal a desire to “kill” off an aspect of your personality and may also represent contention with another person.
Missing a flight may reveal fears over missed opportunities or botching important decisions.
Nudity in dreams may reveal a desire to share your true self with others, sexual urges or a desire for recognition.

Other common dream symbols and their interpretations can be found at world of lucid dreaming.

3. Horary Astrology

Will I find true love? Will I become a millionaire? Will my new rap album go double platinum? Will tonight’s dinner be delicious? Or will it taste like a horse’s butt hole? These are the types of burning questions that horary astrology was designed to answer. Horary astrology is a branch of astrology where an astrologer attempts to answer a question based on the time at which it was asked. The question can be a yes or no, or a a more involving, complicated answer that requires expert interpretation on the part of the astrologer.

The Regiomontanus house system is typically preferred by horary astrologers. The process starts by assigning the thing in question, for instance a lost pet, to a particular house. The house assignment is based on it’s relevance to the thing. Missing pets for example would typically be assigned to the sixth house because the sixth house concerns small animals, illness, disease and servants. The cusp of the house will fall in a particular sign, for example, Gemini. The planetary ruler of that sign will become the significator for the quesited object, (the missing pet). Gemini is ruled by Mercury therefore Mercury would be the significator for the pet. Where the significator is located in the chart, along with it’s aspects, will provide clues about the quesited object. The significator for the person asking the question (the querent) is the planetary ruler of the sign on which the first house cusp falls. Interpreting the answer to a querent’s query takes into account the essential and accidental dignity of the quesited object and how it is aspected. Essential dignity pertains to the strength of the significator’s sign placement whether it is exalted, in it’s detriment , fall or it’s natural rulership. The accidental dignity pertains to it’s house placement and aspects.

The interpretation technique varies from question to question but basically, if the querent is well-aspected with the quesited object, (for example a trine, or sextile apsect) then the prospects are likely good for the querent. Here is a list of the 12 houses and their assignments:

1st House – The querent, physical appearance, personality.
2nd House – Personal finance, wealth, material and moveable possessions.
3rd House – Siblings and neighbors and relatives. Communication and contracts. Short journeys.
4th House – Parents, stationary, fixed possessions.
5th House – Children, romance and sex. Creativity, gambling and games and entertainment.
6th House – Small animals, illness and disease and servants.
7th House – Marriage, partnerships and relationships. Visible enemeies.
8th House – Death, fears anxiety, lust, other people’s money.
9th House – Long distance trips, foreigners, higher education, religion, spirituality, philosophy.
10th House – Career, authority figures, government, judges, royalty.
11th House – Friendships, hopes, wishes, groups, networks, associates.
12th House – Secrets, ulterior motives, hidden enemies, captivity, the unknown, cults, esoteric and arcane knowledge.

4. Tarot

Definition: (n.) a set of 78 cards with pictures and symbols that is used to see what will happen in the future.

The tarot are a set of cards used both for play and for divination. A form of divination called cartomancy. The English and French word tarot derives from the Italian tarocchi, which has no known origin or etymology. The full deck comprises 78 cards, 56 of which comprise the Minor Arcana (lesser secrets) and the other 22 constitute the Major Arcana (greater secrets). The minor arcana are made up of 4 suits: the coins/pentacles, the staves/wands, the swords, and the cups. Each suit has 10 pip cards plus an additional 4 face cards (knight, queen, king, and jack/page).

There are more than one method of performing divination with tarot cards. Here is one method, it goes as as follows:

Shuffle all 78 cards thoroughly.
With the deck face down, select the top card and place it somewhere on the table. Call this card “A”
Select the next top card and place it adjacent to the first card. Call this card “B”.
Deal the 3rd and 4th card in the deck to stack “A” and the 5th card to “B”. Deal another two cards to “A” and one to “B”.
Continue this pattern until the entire deck has been dealt. Stack “A” will have 52 cards and stack “B” will have 26.
Now take the “A” stack of 52 cards and deal the top card placing it somewhere on the table. This will form stack “C”.
Deal the next card and place it adjacent to the first card. This will form stack “D”.
Proceed to deal 2 cards to stack “C” and 1 card to stack “D”. Repeat this pattern until the deck is finished.
You now have 3 stacks: B = 26 cards, C = 35 cards, D = 17 cards.
Take the “C” stack of 35 cards and form 2 more stacks “E” and “F”, following the same pattern as before.
You now have 4 stacks: B = 26, D = 17, E = 24, F = 11.
Remove stack “E” from the table. It won’t be used in the reading.
Take stack “B” and arrange the cards face up in the shape of a horshoe (without altering the stack order). And with the top card being at the lowest right hand corner and the bottom 26th card on the left side.
Interpret the card’s meanings from right to left. Then interpret the 1st and 26th cards together. Then interpret the 2nd and 25th together. Continue until the last pair of 13 and 14.

Buy Tarot cards

5. Time Travel

We are already time travelling. Every passing second is an incremental step into the future. Okay, but what if we could leap frog ahead of the present and preview what happens before it happens? A sneak peek of what’s to come, if you will (Spoiler Alert: The world ends). And of course to be able to travel back in time so you can actually put this new knowledge to use and party like the world is ending because it actually is. It turns out however, that travelling backwards in time is most likely impossible in light of some recent discoveries, so if you do manage to flash forward into the future there is no going back. So kiss Kansas good-bye Dorothy, Oz is your new reality.

Here are photos of suspected time-travelers, actor Nick Cage (top) and rapper Jay-Z (bottom).

These technical obstacles have never stopped the imagination of the Hollywood machine which is very good at creating the illusion of seemingly viable solutions to insoluble real-world quandaries, enough to suspend the disbelief of most viewers. But that’s why people enjoy fantasy because real life can get boring with all it’s disappointing limitations. Plus, beloved time travelers like Doc Brown and Dr. Who, tap into the romanticism of how we would like to experience time travel.

In theory, time travel is possible using the principles of relativity and wormholes. Supposedly, while moving at the speed of light, if you travel far enough out into space and come back to earth, the amount of time that will have transpired will be relatively different for you and earth. Time will have underwent a relative retardation for the light speed traveler while everyone on earth will have continued to age normally. This concept was illustrated in the movie Interstellar, which achieved this by having the character’s spacecraft enter a traversable wormhole.

6. Magic 8 Ball

The Magic 8 Ball is an iconic novelty toy invented back in 1950 by Albert C. Carter. The functional component of the toy was inspired by a spirit writing tool used by the inventor’s mother who was a professional clairvoyant. It was initially marketed as the Syco-Seer and was encased in an opalescent orb resembling a crystal ball.

The Magic 8 Ball is simple to use.

Ask a yes or no question, shake the ball then view the sage advice pickled in it’s dark blue fluid. The Magic 8 Ball is not a reliable prognostication device so don’t use it for critical decisions like when to pull the plug on your comotose nana’s life support, for example. There are 20 possible Magic 8 Ball responses which are basically all variations of yes, no, or try again. Here is the list of Magic 8 Ball responses:

It is certain
It is decidedly so
Without a doubt
Yes, definitely
You may rely on it
As I see it, yes
Most likely
Outlook good
Yes
Signs point to yes
Reply hazy try again
Ask again later
Better not tell you now
Cannot predict now
Concentrate and ask again
Don’t count on it
My reply is no
My sources say no
Outlook not so good
Very doubtful

Want to know your astrology placements? You can generate your astrology chart here with our free birth chart generator tool.

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Jetta Moon

Jetta Moon is an artist, writer and astrology blogger. This site gives him an excuse to explore, learn and write about the world of psychology, astrology and various personality type systems.

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6 Ways People Try To Predict The Future