Y'all know I spend most of my non-working waking hours prowling round The Works discount bookstores and have spotted a few bargains over the years. Today I saw one which might be a little on the fringe for some but it's entitled, 'tell your own fortune kit' - (they didn’t use capitals so I didn’t either!) original price £25.00, now on sale at £5.99. It's by Jane Struthers who writes for 'Bella' magazine (not sure if that's a recommendation or not) and she also used to write the Gemini Jane column in The Sun (ah, perhaps not a recommendation!).
Don't worry, Mandrake hasn't gone all Mystic Meg - the reason I bought it is that it included three very nice looking Chinese coins, embossed, inscribed, square hole in the middle and they're about 1.1/2" diameter (39mm for those overseas). They're described as i ching coins (why the heck I always read that as 'itching' coins I'll never know) but, for the price, are probably somewhat cheaper than buying similar coins elsewhere. Also in the kit is a nice brass pendulum (supply your own string), a set of 78 tarot cards (not all that sure about those just yet so I'll leave them sealed in the box for the time being) plus a book of information on many different fortune telling processes such as Chinese Astrology and giving details of the meanings of the different years, Dominoes, Ordinary Playing Cards, Runes, Numerology and data on a host of other methods. It even covers Tasseomancy which means reading tea leaves - if only my old Granny had known she was a Tasseomancer, she'd have been well chuffed! Whether you're into fortune telling or not (and I'm probably not) it's a goldmine of information for the mentalist who wants to add some convincing bits to his/her patter, all sorts of fill ins when doing mind reading and divining etc.
If you're not comfortable with any of this, then leave it well alone. If you're OK then for less than £6 it's a useful set of items and information. If you're really into it then The Works also have a large book all about fortune telling for £2.99. I was very amused to see in our local store that it was parked right next to Nic Einhorn's Encyclopaedia of Magic (also £2.99 and an utter steal at that price)!
