Fortune Telling in Pop Culture: From Tarot Cards to Crystal Balls

Fortune telling has long been a part of human society, and via different mediums, it has entered popular culture. Fortune telling has been portrayed in films, television programs, and even video games using anything from tarot cards to crystal balls. In this article, we'll look at how fortune telling has influenced popular culture and how it's caught people's interest.

Fortune Telling in Literature

In classic works like Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and William Shakespeare's Macbeth, fortune telling has long been a common literary motif. These texts often feature fortune tellers as intriguing, mysterious characters with the ability to see into the future.

Madame Sosostris, a fortune teller in T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, is one of the most well-known literary characters. Tarot card reader Madame Sosostris is said to be "a clairvoyant of great renown" who makes future predictions. Her inclusion in the poem heightens its eerie and ominous tone.

Fortune Telling in Film

Additionally, fortune telling has a long history in movies, especially in the horror genre. Fortune tellers are depicted as sinister individuals who provide dire prophecies in films like The Exorcist and The Omen. The fortune teller's prophecies often come true in these movies, heightening the dread and fear.

But movies like Big and The Princess Diaries have also shown fortune reading in a more humorous manner. In these films, fortune tellers are portrayed as oddball characters who give the main character advice.

Fortune Telling in Television

With characters that employ tarot cards and other divination tools on programs like Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, television has also become a popular medium for fortune telling. In these series, fortune reading is often used as a means of offering guidance to the characters' journeys and providing insight into the future.

In reality television programs like Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal and Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry, fortune telling has also been discussed. These presentations provide viewers a look into the realm of professional fortune reading by highlighting real-life fortune teller and their skills.

Fortune Telling in Video Games

Tarot cards and other divination tools are used by characters in games like Persona 5 and Final Fantasy VIII to aid them in their objectives, proving that fortune telling has even made it into the realm of video games. Fortune telling is often employed in these games as a technique to provide tips and cues to the player, assisting them in moving on in the game.

Conclusion

Fortune telling has been a prominent part of pop culture for many years, appearing in a variety of media. Fortune tellers have captivated the public's attention and given viewers a feeling of mystery and intrigue throughout literature, cinema, television, and video games. It is debatable if fortune telling is accurate, yet there is no disputing its ongoing appeal in popular culture.