The question of fortune-telling inherently has a long history, in principle, comparable to the development of the rational man himself . If we talk about the immediate past of our people, it is worth noting the fact that all the major religions, primarily Christianity, did not encourage such actions, rightly considering them to be the legacy of paganism. But fortune-telling, in general, and fortune-telling at baptism, in particular, did not fade among the people; moreover, after the fall of the communist regime, it gained new heyday.
However, it should be clearly understood that more than half a century of pressure from atheistic beliefs to a large extent distorted the understanding of the very principle of this sacrament, its meaning and purpose. Naturally, in a modern ultra-urban society with the Internet, cell phones and other tricked out things, it’s unlikely that, for example, guessing with keys is as deep as our ancestors did, it’s more likely that these old rites are understood by modern youth as a joke or a fun pastime.
On the other hand, no matter how hard they try to simplify the perception of the results of the rite, divination by Baptism, in particular, leaves an indelible impression on the soul of a person, especially a young virgin, since human psychology is designed in such a way as to remember and evaluate any supernatural moments.
It is clear that Epiphany fortune-telling was presented in various regions by its features, their varieties existed and there are still a huge number. However, perhaps with a few interpretations, some divination methods were common throughout the country. The most common among them were fortune telling by the mirror, wax divination, throwing a shoe by the gate or door, in the shadows cast by the candle flame, in dreams that were dreamed of on the Epiphany night.
Fortune-telling with the help of mirrors had two of the most common options. In the first case. In this interpretation, two mirrors are installed with their faces facing each other, and a candle was placed between them. The girl, being on the side, tried in a flame to examine and recognize the silhouette of her narrowed one. In this embodiment, the girl should have been present exclusively alone. With rare exceptions, fortune telling of this kind was allowed the presence of other persons, relatives, girlfriends on the premises, and only with strict non-interference in the process.
The second version of fortune telling was to some extent simpler, for this reason it was used more often. A candle and cutlery were placed in front of the mirror. The girl urged her chosen one to come to dinner, peering into the mirror, tried to examine him. It is clear that all fortune telling of this kind is based on the subjective impressions of a particular person, a young girl. Naturally, in a vague silhouette, she will see exactly who she would like to see. And, given the fact that love is very often mutual, then fortune-telling periodically, as they say, comes true.
Dreams of divination are very common on Epiphany night . Indeed, from time immemorial there is an opinion that it is on this night that prophetic dreams come to people without fail , which, to one degree or another, should predict the fate of a person. Naturally, a person rarely could independently. For this reason, for explanations, interpretations of these prophetic dreams, it was customary to turn to the so-called grandmothers-sorcerers.
Whatever the case, whether or not to believe in the predictions for Baptism, whether to trust various interpreters of dreams is a matter of purely and individually each person. One thing to remember, no matter what the forecast, only we are the arbiters of our fates.