Fortune telling

On the evening of the second day of Tet, I went to my friend's house to wish her a happy new year. She boasted that she had just come back from having her fortune told by a chicken foot fortune teller. She was very happy because this year the fortune teller said that everything would go smoothly. Then she told me that there were many places to go to have fortune told at the beginning of spring. Almost every locality had a fortune teller, from palm reading, fortune telling with betel leaves, banknotes, chicken feet, horoscopes... It had become a habit, every year, faithful people like her would go to have their fortunes told, at least once at the beginning of spring, and at most whenever the family "had a problem" or before an event. Some people would go to a fortune teller, while others were like "when you're sick, you pray to all directions", and would go to a fortune teller if someone told them about a good fortune teller. Many people said they would go to have their fortunes told. But is it really reassuring, or is it just buying worries?

Thinking back, last year's Tet Quy Mao, "areca nut shaman" Truong Thi Huong in Kinh Mon still made a lot of money thanks to fortune telling, people who came to her house to wait for fortune telling had to wait a long time. But it was not until February 2023, when the shaman Truong Thi Huong was administratively punished, and then in August 2023, the Investigation Police Agency of Kinh Mon Town Police prosecuted and temporarily detained the "areca nut shaman" for fraud and appropriation of property, that everyone was shocked to discover that they had been deceived by this god-selling person. She was accused by Mr. Tran The X. Before that, on December 6, 2022, Mr. X. and his mother went to Huong's house in Hien Thanh ward (Kinh Mon) to have their fortune told. Huong suggested to Mr. X. to perform a di cung hoan so ceremony, pray for selling the house, pray for peace... for 270 million VND. When Mr. X. said he couldn’t afford it, Huong agreed to… reduce the price to 180 million VND. Of course, after the ceremony, Mr. X.’s family waited for a long time but still didn’t get what they wanted, so they realized they had been scammed. After that, Huong continued to be prosecuted for fraud and property appropriation in another case, with another victim.

When this case was exposed, many people asked the question: if the "areca-cutting medium" was really talented, she would have been able to predict her own fate and avoid it. If I don't even know my own fate, how can I predict the fate of others, how can I find a way to resolve it? With such a personality, how can I judge the world!

Although there have been lessons learned from the "areca-boiling medium" incident in Kinh Mon, it is clear that fortune-telling services are still operating in many places, most popular at the beginning of this spring. The service prices are also diverse, from a few tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand dong. The money for fortune-telling may not be much, but after the predictions of the masters and mediums, many families are worried, and then to reduce their worries, many families embark on the extremely expensive journey of "offering stars to resolve bad luck", "moving palaces to change numbers"... For small families, it is a few million dong, for large families, it is up to hundreds of millions of dong like the case of Mr. X. mentioned above. After Tet until the full moon of the first lunar month is the time when star-offering ceremonies to resolve bad luck attract a lot of participants. In addition to performing star-offering ceremonies to resolve bad luck at pagodas, many people seek out mediums who they consider to be skilled to ask for their own bad luck resolution.

The reason why fortune-telling services are still thriving is because many people are willing to believe, invest money and time in fortune-telling. I have a friend who is wondering about her future direction next year. Someone advised her to find Master Th. in Quyet Thang commune (Hai Duong city) because he is famous for predicting future careers. But someone else advised her to look back and see what she really needs and wants and decide for herself, why let others decide for her future? As a dialectical materialist, I think so too. The old saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes", but I think "Man proposes, God disposes". When a person is truly talented, has a heart, and is willing to strive and make an effort to achieve his goals, he does not need to pray for everything to come true. If you just lie there waiting for the plum to fall into your mouth, it will take a long time for the plum to fall into your mouth no matter how much you pray.

Life is unpredictable, let's just be optimistic and excited to live. New year, new beginning, new thinking, new goals will give us new results!