Divination : case
studies
My
parents, like most Indians, consulted astrologers for important
decisions, such as matching couples and fixing the date and time of
weddings Even when I was a child, I realised that this
did not guarantee happiness nor avoid quarrels and mishaps.
Despite this, they seemed to have a lot of faith in fate. I
started to experiment with divination tools while still at secondary
school. It started when Uncle Ratnasigam gave me a copy of
Cheiro's book on palmistry, which I still have. My
school-mates still recall me telling many of them, including those
from quite poor backgrounds, that they would travel and go overseas.
They used to laugh at this since hardly anyone, especially women,
went overseas. But, times changed and they did. I could
also see important aspects of my parent's lives echoing "Cheiro's
decoding" of lines in my parent's hands.
I
became interested in assessing the validity of palmistry and other
divinatory systems. I do not tell fortunes for a living but
have used readings to bring fresh, often unconsidered, perspectives
on problems faced by myself and those close to me. I found
that when readings are wrong, they tend to be wildly out.
Sometimes, the reading ignores the question posed and causes
confusion by addressing matters of much graver concern, which could
not have been anticipated but which occur later. So, even when
the divinations are correct, interpretations can be wrong.
However, they can often be spot on and very helpful (as illustrated
in the following case studies).