In addition to using the Chinese Almanac to formulate a person’s fortune, other devices like a bowl of lacquer beans, are used to aid in the Chinese fortune telling process.
What You Need for ‘Bean’ Fortune Telling:
- Name (English and/or Chinese name)
- Birth date
- Time of Birth
- Address (if asking about love)
- A specific question you want answered
What You Will Learn from ‘Bean’ Fortune Telling:
Bean fortune telling is used to get an answer to one specific question for the coming year, so it is very limited in scope. Topics that can be foretold range from career (for example, will I find a job) and relationships (for example, will I get married?) to childbearing (for example, will I have a child?) and buying a home (for example, where’s the best place to buy a home? Who is the best real estate agent?).How It Works and What You Can Expect from ‘Bean’ Fortune Telling:
First, tell the fortune teller what you would like to know. Then, you write down your name, birth date, and time of birth. The fortune teller will then write down the date. Then, he or she will ask you to silently focus on your question while he or she silently picks a number. Then, he or she will place a small lacquer bowl with a lid on the table. Inside the bowl are a few dozen red lacquer beans. Three shallow empty bowls will also be placed in a horizontal row on the table.
The fortune teller will then grasp the bowl filled with beans and gently shake it while the client focuses on the question that has been asked. After a few seconds to a minute, the fortune teller will remove the lid from the bowl and grab a handful of beans (the amount varies based on how he or she feels) and place them in one of the empty bowls. The fortune teller will then add up the beans and silently make calculations and write them down while also consulting the Chinese Almanac.
Next, the client will be asked to grab an amount of beans that feels good to him or her and place them in the first bowl. Then, the client will grab another amount that feels good and place them in the second bowl. Finally, the client will grab a final amount of beans and place them in the third bowl. It is okay for beans to remain in the main bowl; there’s no need to empty the bowl.
The fortune teller will then count the beans in the first bowl, the second bowl, and the third bowl and write each one down. Then, she will pour the beans, bowl by bowl, back into the main bowl and place the lid on top. The fortune teller will make a few more calculations before revealing the fortune. The fortune is not simply “yes, you will have a child” or “no, you won’t find a job.” Instead, the fortune teller gives a forecast with an explanation and advice to increase the chances of the fortune becoming true.
The consultation takes 20 to 30 minutes. The cost varies and is sometimes negotiable but it typically begins at $15 to $20.
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