The attitude of Orthodoxy towards fortune telling. Is fortune telling a great sin? What could be the consequences of fortune telling?

Remember Zhukovsky in “Svetlana”?

Once on Epiphany evening
The girls were guessing…

And also from Pushkin in Onegin:

Christmas time has arrived. What a joy!
Windy youth guesses,
Who doesn't regret anything
Before which life is far
It lies bright and vast;
Old age guesses through glasses
At his grave board,
Having lost everything irrevocably;
And all the same: hope for them
He lies with his baby talk.

Maybe unconsciously, but Alexander Sergeevich caught the main thing - the deceitful childishness of fortune telling. And the image of old age, having lost everything, but still wondering at its grave board, is reminiscent of a lost player at roulette, who bets the last gold on “zero”, and, of course, loses.

Why can't you guess? The question is childish and funny for a believer, but, alas, relevant for a half-believer or even a non-believer. Here's why. Many probably remember the story of M.A. Bulgakov " dog's heart“and the wonderful phrase of Professor Preobrazhensky: “Here, doctor, is what happens when a researcher, instead of going parallel and groping with nature, forces the question and lifts the veil: here, get Sharikov and eat him with porridge.” The same is true in the life of every person, when he, instead of going parallel and groping with God’s Providence (or for those who do not understand this language, with his destiny), lifts the veil over the future: then he receives his man-dog, his Anubis in the form of their distorted, mutilated fate - fulfilled fears and realized phantoms, or, on the contrary, the fragments of their unfulfilled hopes.

But for a believer, everything is clear. worthy of the eighth circle of Dante’s Hell - the department of “violators of the Divine” (although, of course, the Divinity is not subject to any violence or pressure). These are people who want to snatch His secrets from God, to steal some secret knowledge from Him. They again repeat the sin of Adam and Eve and heed the insidious whisper of the serpent: “And you will be like gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). But, naturally, God does not reveal anything to them, despite all their efforts. After all, “the wicked will not see the glory of God.” And Divine knowledge - even more so. Then the question is - from whom do fortunetellers get their knowledge, if not from God? The answer is clear: from the monkey of God, that is, from the devil. Fortune tellers listen to the seducing spirits, the spirits of evil in heaven, and ultimately to their master, the Father of Lies, or, more simply, to the Chief Scammer, whose entire pleasure is to deceive, destroy, and kill. It is no coincidence that many Church Fathers interpreted the well-known passage in the Bible (Gen. 6:1) about the union of the “sons of God” with the “daughters of men” in the context of the spiritual connection between female fortune tellers and demons who taught them fortune telling and witchcraft. And the harsh but justified Old Testament norm becomes clear: “Thou shalt not leave a sorcerer alive” (Ex. 22:18). Because their profession is lying and communicating with demons. And the fate of the one who risks turning to them is clear - to become a demonic toy, an obedient ball in the hands of the Chief Thimblemaker and die. The fate of the Israeli king Saul, who turned to the Endor fortune teller, is indicative: under the guise of Samuel, she summoned a demon who, apparently, correctly predicted the fate of Saul and his troops, but thereby demoralized them, morally disarmed them and did everything to ensure that his ominous dream came true and a destructive prophecy.

And not only in essence, but also in form, fortune telling carries anti-Christian meanings. Take, for example, cards as a tool for fortune telling. They are not so harmless in appearance. Of all three hypotheses for the origin of cards (Chinese, Egyptian and European), the most convincing is the European-occult one, according to which cards appeared in Europe in the second half of the 14th century and are associated with the Jewish Kabbalistic environment. In this case, everything falls into place. It is no coincidence that the suit “cross” is also called the word “club”, while in the Jewish tradition, unclean food is called club food. Accordingly, the suit of “crosses,” blasphemously symbolizing the Cross of the Lord, is designated by a word testifying to the Jewish abomination of the Cross. The peaks symbolize the Spear of Longinus, which pierced the side of Christ (John 19:34), which is hinted at by the very name “peak,” that is, a spear. “Worms” refers to the Gospel sponge on a reed: “one of the soldiers took a sponge, filled it with vinegar, and put it on the reed, gave Him to drink” (Matthew 27:48). Another interpretation is also connected with the Passion - this is the pierced heart of Christ. Finally, the “tambourines” symbolize the nails with which Christ was crucified. It would seem, what do diamond-shaped “diamonds” have in common with nails? The answer is clear to those who have seen the heads of old pre-revolutionary nails: they are square, not round, like modern ones. Medieval nails were like that. There is also a Jewish trace in the name “trump”, which is a corruption of the word “kosher”, which denotes “pure” food, ritually acceptable for Jews.

Let's look at the names of the cards. The most significant card is the joker (literally “jester”). But in the Italian version he is called “the devil” and originally on his staff he carried... human head. The word "ace" is of Polish origin, from the Low German "devil". It is significant that on the ace card in the 16th century. They often drew... a pig - an animal, to put it mildly, not kosher from a Jewish point of view. It is possible that the “lady” is a blasphemous image of the Madonna; the fact remains that biblical heroines - Rachel, Judith, and so on - were often depicted as ladies. Finally, David and Solomon were often depicted among the “kings.” In contrast, among the “jacks” (the word “jack” literally means “servant, serf”) was depicted the knight La Hire, nicknamed “Satan.”

It is no coincidence that cards soon began to be subject to bans and persecution due to their obvious connection with blasphemy and evil spirits. The occultists themselves recognize the occult nature of the so-called. tarot cards, or Egyptian cards, and the connection with them of ordinary cards. Here are just some telling quotes from occult sites:

“The history of the origin of playing cards is often considered together with the history of the Tarot (or Tarot) deck.

Tarot is a deck of 78 cards with a variety of designs on them. The deck is divided into 2 parts, b O The largest of which consists of 56 cards, called minor cards, and the other part - of 22 cards, called main (or major) cards, as well as Arcana.

Small cards in the amount of 56 are divided into four suits, each of which consists of 14 cards, very similar to modern playing cards.

Four suits - Scepters (sticks, wands), Swords, Cups and Pentacles (Coins, Denarii). Tarot readers usually give the following correspondence between these suits and the suits of playing cards. Scepters are crosses, Swords are spades, Cups are worms, Coins are diamonds.

Each suit consists of ten cards from one (Ace) to ten, as well as four role cards - King, Queen, Knight and Page.

The Arcana consist of 21 numbered cards and usually go in this order: 1 - Magician, 2 - Pope (Priestess), 3 - Empress, 4 - Emperor, 5 - Pope (Priest), 6 - Lovers, 7 - Chariot, 8 - Justice , 9 - Hermit, 10 - Wheel of Fortune, 11 - Strength, 12 - Hanged Man, 13 - Death, 14 - Temperance, 15 - Devil, 16 - Tower (Lightning), 17 - Star, 18 - Moon, 19 - Sun, 20 - Court, 21 - Peace. The unnumbered card is called the Fool.

“The suits of playing cards, as well as role cards, can be found in the theories of G.I. Gurdjieff. It is noteworthy that the most mysterious researcher of the East (mainly Sufi traditions, the religious-mystical movement of Islam), who brought many secrets of Eastern wisdom to the West, uses playing cards to describe his system, which he called the “Model of Fate.” According to G.I. Gurdjieff, a person consists of three Centers. This is the Intellectual center (mind, intellect, thinking) - it corresponds to the suit of diamonds, the Emotional center (emotions, mood, heart) - it corresponds to the suit of hearts, the Physical center (body) - it corresponds to the suit of spades (body movement) and the suit of clubs (instincts) , body reflexes).

Compared to tarot cards, modern playing cards are a smaller tarot deck with the Page or Knight removed, leaving 13 cards in each suit. Even in this truncated form, the cards are of great symbolic importance, since their division corresponds to the number of seasons. The two colors - red and black - represent the two main seasons of the year, when the sun is north of the equator and when it is south of the equator. The four suits represent the four seasons. Twelve role cards (kings, queens and jacks in each of the four suits) represent the signs of the zodiac, arranged in triads."

I think this is enough for the reader to understand: playing cards are inextricably linked with all kinds of devilry.

Of the Russian legislative monuments about cards, the Code of 1649 is the first to be mentioned, which prescribes to deal with card players “as it is written about tatya” (thieves), i.e. beat mercilessly, cut off fingers and hands. A decree of 1696 introduced the idea of ​​searching anyone suspected of wanting to play cards, “and whoever has their cards taken out should be beaten with a whip.” In 1717, playing cards was prohibited under threat of a fine. In 1733, prison or batogs were designated for repeat offenders. Unfortunately, under Catherine II, cards practically took root in Russia. With corresponding consequences - countless basenesses of landowners towards serfs (losing living people and entire families at cards), ruin and suicide.

Therefore, dear readers, if you are asked to tell fortunes with cards, stop and think: who are you with - with Christ or with Satan.

Chatto V. Origin and history of playing cards. London, 1848.

J. IN. Thiers. Traite des jeux. Paris, 1686.

Senger. Researches into the history of playing cards. London, 1848.

Lehrs. A, 1885.. Die ältesten deutschen Spielkarten des Königlichen Kupferstichkabinetts zu Dresden. Leipzig

I am now interested in fortune telling with cards, for me it is a pleasant pastime, fortune telling with tarot cards really calms my nerves. I guess only to myself on abstract questions. Great value I don’t attach any meaning to it. Father, is this really such a big sin and why? If you consider the number of publishing houses that publish them and the stores that sell them and the artists that draw them, then half the country should be burned at the stake for witchcraft. And the other day I accidentally discovered that the same book publishing house produces cards Orthodox calendars and books and textbooks on witchcraft. I was simply amazed. What do you think about this and is home fortune telling with cards such a terrible sin? This is important to me, otherwise I wouldn’t write here. Irina.

Priest Dionysius Svechnikov answers:

Hello Irina!

As for publishing houses and stores, you need to understand that they don’t care what they publish or what they sell, as long as they get money for it. God is their judge.

Sincerely, priest Dionisy Svechnikov.

I recently heard this from one of my clients: It’s a sin, Lilya, it’s not good to engage in fortune telling.". Wow, the topic is good, I want to write about it... So what is sin, who invented it and who is comfortable constantly dividing everything into black and white, into good and bad and accepting one of the sides to distinguish between yourself - whether you are good or bad... Initially, I want to tell you what TAROT is, how a tarot reader and a deck of cards work, about the tarot deck as a symbolic system that describes all of a person’s life states, where each card has its own meaning.

I think many already know how the unconscious works and what role it plays in a person’s life, but still, I’ll say a few words. What a person can see, feel and perceive is only what could fit into consciousness, i.e. all that we are aware of - we can say: "Yes, it is!" But what happens in the unconscious, it is called that precisely because it is not conscious, i.e. it’s as if he doesn’t exist, it’s not me, and this is where the biggest ambush lies.

Many books have been written about this by smart scientists. My favorite K.G. Jung, I often remind him of him, devoted his life to studying the work of consciousness and the unconscious, worked with patients through Archetypes, their meanings, worked with dreams, with symbols and the like...

As my husband tells me: “Everything that a person does not understand seems very scary to him.”. And how everyone loves to say something like: “The fortune teller told me, and everything was wrong, she ruined my whole life, she said that I would have many opportunities to meet my man, but I never did.”. Well, it's funny, isn't it? How easy it is to just find someone to blame for your failures. Main “... that it’s not me, it’s not me who decides how to live, it’s not me who creates my life, anyone does this, mom, dad, husband, fortune teller, boss, everyone - but not me.”. I'll come back to this!

A charged tarot deck is the symbols that every person has in their unconscious. In the unconscious big story, information about all our incarnations of our Soul is stored there, there are few, many, very many of them - the level of development of the Soul depends on this, information about the current incarnation, your current life (past, present and future) is also stored there.

I just ask you to make the assumption that We, the People, do not still know that we are the most important and most intelligent creatures. After all, it’s naive to think that everything happens by itself, and no one controls this world, isn’t it...? We are all here for a reason and we just need to accept it, understand the intention of the Soul, develop ourselves and thus develop the World as a whole. We all go through atheism, through trials, lessons and so on, but somewhere deep inside each of us knows our true purpose - our Divine essence... Someone understands more easily, does not resist, someone needs to get in trouble, break off, then it comes, but we all go through it one way or another. And for this we must love ourselves, no matter what we are, it’s just necessary!

So the tarot, a set of symbols, has a lot of magic, magic and other things around these poor symbols. Yes, there were times when a fortune teller was considered a witch and burned at the stake; 2011 years ago, Christ was crucified. It's all about the same thing, they just didn't understand, weren't ready to accept what they were saying, "...everything that is unclear is very scary!"

I want to say that Everything is from God! Yesterday the question arose: is cloning from God or a Sin? The world is full of dualities, it consists of them (man and woman, dark and light, good and bad). If the Creator, the Collective Unconscious, the Creator, God, the Higher Powers (call it what you want) decided that it’s time for this to appear in the Human World, then it must be so. Understand that these dualities constitute wholeness. Quite a lot of time will pass before Society gets used to it, begins to understand and accept a conscious approach to its life. Now we are still like children, but we are moving by leaps and bounds towards “growing up”.

There are a huge number of helpers for awareness, for “growing up”, you just have to want it. Choose any method that suits your soul and that you believe in. The main thing is not to judge or criticize other methods. Your method is the best for you. Give freedom of choice to someone else. The Church is a place of prayer, a psychologist, a tarot reader - works with unconscious programs, at the level of the Soul, Constellations - help to understand the generic system, now methods of immersion in the Unconscious are becoming more and more popular, this includes Holotropic breathing, Rebirthing, different types Hypnosis, deep immersion, Regressive hypnosis, many books have been written by both our scientists and foreign ones, about development, self-knowledge, and so on. And I only listed what first came to mind, and what I went through myself. If you feel good there and you understand something for yourself, for your development, use it. The world is full of opportunities, each of us is given a lot of talents. And what I hear more and more often from 40-year-old people is, I’m having a crisis at what age? Excuses, we have only crises all around us, we invent them for ourselves, so as not to do anything, first of all with ourselves. Well, if you go to a tarot reader, then blame him for all your problems!

We are all mired in these patterns, it’s just easier for us, we don’t have to take responsibility for our lives, we don’t have to develop, it’s convenient for the brain, we’re used to it, we were taught that way, etc. Try to perceive the World as whole, indivisible, Everything is from God, everything is from the Creator. As soon as you accept one position, that’s it - you’re already mistaken, it’s no longer the truth. If you admit that you may be wrong and that things are not really like that, you give yourself and others more freedom. Church is wonderful, it is very necessary, but not everyone and not always, a psychologist is excellent, but not everyone needs it now. Everyone has their own path, this article will also be read only by those who need to read it, either as help on a difficult path in development, or as another trick to amuse their Ego and say “I wrote nonsense”, I know that I’m right, and I live correctly!” And this will be the choice of each reader, I wrote my thoughts and who knows, maybe I’m wrong.

Tarot is, first of all, self-knowledge, it is no longer a secret, knowledge can be obtained, you just need to want to know what you didn’t know before, try to get out of the pattern and prepare for big changes in your life, because you will get to know your true self, accept what you previously could not even afford to think about yourself or others, reveal your talents and remove unnecessary, aging programs that really interfere with moving forward. There is nothing magically inexplicable in the tarot; we are already quite ripe for this to no longer happen." Secret knowledge". Cards bring information from your unconscious part into consciousness, the most dangerous thing is when a person lives and does not even realize what he is doing, that inside there is an early unexperienced suppressed emotion, he has long forgotten about it, he carries it within himself, it affects his life, but there is no awareness! These are the most dangerous programs, sometimes just a feeling of guilt can make a person eat himself alive and that’s it, his life passed, he died, he saw nothing, he didn’t know anything, he just suffered.

Sometimes just one awareness is already huge step forward, forward to change the situation. Tarot can really be called a predictive system, but only at a given moment in time, the variability of events is more and more depending on actions, thoughts, emotions at a given moment in time, in half an hour, and so on. It is very convenient to use tarot as a way to diagnose the current state, what energies surround you, what is happening really, not what you think.

Let's figure out how the universe works, how it interacts with you when the fortune teller says: “You have good potential, the project is not bad, it can be developed”. The man listened and went to check the information said, “But now I’ll check whether he’s telling the truth or not, hehe.” What is this client's goal? That's right, find a catch, he knows better what and how, he is his own God, and people in general cannot be trusted, there are enemies all around. Attention is aimed at having someone prove to him that this can exist, it’s like “Now, if you are God, throw me a stick from the sky and then I will believe”. This is exactly what the client will get, he is looking for evidence that all fortune tellers are lying - he will find it, this is exactly what he needs now! I noticed that people only hear what they want to hear, they don’t think about what the tarot reader says, they understood something and went.

“No, tell me, will I get money from this project or not?” There is no awareness that only he decides his fate, not I, not the cards, but it is very scary. Response type “The energies are good, you can work here”- Client: “So I’ll get the money, right?” "It all depends on your behavior after you leave me"- it's almost a sentence. "You are charlatans!!!" It's very funny to me. Honestly!

One of my very good friends said: “People think that they have come and the work is over, but the work is just beginning. Not everyone is ready for this, Lilya!”

“Come on, tell me how everything will be and preferably make the main decision for me, what should I do, and I’ll sit, pick my nose, and judge you for now that you’re doing a sinful thing here.”.

Who really comes for a solution, who is ready for change, trust the tarot only to help, a psychologist cannot cure and understand the problem when he alone is trying, and the client doesn’t care, as if he doesn’t hear, or rather doesn’t want to hear, no one will help here . Work is possible only on trust, on understanding and on the desire to resolve the issue, that’s the only way. Please, if you do not believe in tarot, do not come to the session, you will only waste your time. Those who are ready to change are welcome, we are ready to work!

Is it possible to guess? - people often ask this question on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and Christmastide. Many such questions come to our section.

We collected the opinions of different priests, asking them whether it is possible to guess at all, whether there are any exceptions, whether fortune telling is acceptable at Christmas, Christmastide and Lent, and what the Church says about this.

Archpriest Sergius Vasin,rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Bobyakovo, Novousmansky district, Voronezh region

When answering the question about whether it is possible to tell fortunes, we will have to start with the fact that fortune telling is a blatant disgrace and, of course, a sin. Any sin grows out of human passions, which nest in the fallen human nature. Basically, this is, of course, pride and the curiosity resulting from it. After the Fall, man lost the possibility of direct communication with God, so when the Lord wanted to speak to people, he did it through those whom we used to call prophets. Despite this, the devil soon enough taught people certain manipulations, by performing which they could establish a direct connection not with God, but with him, with the devil, and with his minions - evil spirits.

Such manipulations mainly formed the basis of religious cults, which have nothing to do with belief in the true God. Among other things, the devil entertained human curiosity based on pride, therefore, since ancient times, a special “art” or “practice” has appeared, giving a person knowledge about the past, future or the so-called fate of an individual or an entire nation. Which, in fact, is what we call “fortune telling.”

There are countless similar techniques that establish a connection with another reality or supernatural forces, most of them have survived to this day, starting with the observation of luminaries and natural phenomena and ending with fortune telling on coffee grounds or scattering cards. In fact, the devil does not care what manipulations a person performs, the main thing is his voluntary consent to turn away from God and turn to him, to the devil, for help. And this does not bode well for a person - whether he believes in it or not - anything good. Even if you can find out some information about the past or future, he will still deceive you, because according to the word Holy Scripture, the devil is the father of lies.

Healthy in spiritual sense people understand that fortune telling has nothing to do with a person’s true spiritual life. Remember, like the classic: “once on Epiphany evening the girls were telling fortunes, they took the shoe off their feet and threw it behind the gate.” It is clear that this is infinitely far from true faith. Therefore, since ancient times, people who expected the coming of Christ were faithful to the Creator of the universe, understood that practices that are an integral part of foreign cults, such as witchcraft, sorcery, sorcery, magic, including fortune telling, are an abomination before God and a departure from faith. Therefore, such actions are already prohibited in the Old Testament: confirmation of this can be found in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

In Christianity, all these devilish, pagan practices are strictly prohibited: by the decisions of Church Councils, the rules of the Holy Fathers, the Nomocanon (the main canonical collection Orthodox Church), and even Domostroy. Moreover, people who practiced them were often even excommunicated from communion, and penances were imposed on them - these are punishments (church punishments) imposed by the Church for the spiritual correction of a person from certain sins that he has committed. Moreover, this is all very strictly prescribed. For example, in the Nomocanon we read that those who turn to gypsies were excommunicated for 5 years, and those who read fortunes on beans or barley were excommunicated for 6 years. Moreover, not only the fortune-telling that we have already talked about is prohibited, but even the innovations that have entered into practice among Christians - fortune-telling from the books of Holy Scripture (Psalms, Gospels).

Based on this, we see that a real Christian should not resort to fortune telling under any pretext, even if he really wants to. Therefore, questions about whether it is possible to tell fortunes during the Nativity Fast or Christmastide are inappropriate. You should never guess and under no circumstances, because this is a betrayal of God and turning directly to the devil.

People who tell fortunes in our enlightened age can be divided into two groups: some know for sure that they are turning away from God and turning to Satan, but for some reason, out of lack of faith or out of despair, they do it anyway. They are like a child who receives help from his father at his first request, but when his father is not at home, he tries to reach into his pocket and take out his wallet. The second group are those who are blissfully ignorant and do not understand what they are doing. They can also be compared to children who can freely ask their parents anything, but nevertheless they also strive to peek through the keyhole.

It is important for us to understand and remember that fortune telling is terrible sin. And even if a person has repented, the Lord will definitely forgive him this sin, but! Would the devil be willing to let his prey go so easily? Most likely, for this sin a person will have to endure some kind of suffering and illness, because we must understand: if we look through the keyhole, we will definitely get a door in the forehead.

True Christians need to be faithful to God, rely on the will of God, put themselves in His hands, and then He will definitely reveal to us everything necessary for the salvation of the soul and the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is it possible to tell fortunes on Christmastide and Christmas?

Priest John Zakharov,rector of the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital

– Why are modern people still attracted to fortune telling at Christmas and Christmas time?

Because we, modern people(I also count myself among them), we do not understand the joy of church life. It is mysterious to us and we try to open the door to this world, but not with humility, not with faith in God, but with some incomprehensible instrument. Therefore, if there is a period that the church distinguishes in a special way, for example, Christmastide, then something special needs to be done at this time. It seems to me that, on the one hand, this is simply a lack of understanding and ignorance of church life, and on the other, a desire to be involved in the mystery. Man is a creature that cannot live only in this world, on the plane of life, without love, without joy, so he tries to get this joy in semi-pagan ways.

– Why can’t you guess? Is it dangerous?

A person, instead of discovering the joy of spiritual life, begins to drown out the voice of the Christian soul within himself and feed it all sorts of garbage instead of drinking living water church sacraments.

– After all, all of our Russian classical literature is mostly imbued with Orthodoxy. And we are still with school curriculum Let's remember fortune telling as a tradition...

Our literature says a lot of things, including things that are not always decent to talk about. Not everything that the classics talked about is an example to follow. I am more than sure that the writers in this way tried to expose the ignorance of our people.

Is it possible for pregnant women to tell fortunes?

Archpriest Alexy Spassky,

rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Merciful” at the Morozov Children’s Hospital in Moscow

Let's start with the fact that no one knows the future except God, who exists outside the categories of time. And since a person is free, he creates his own future, it is impossible to know what he will do in a given situation. So the question arises: why guess at all? A completely pointless activity.

Therefore, all other questions related to the time of fortune telling (Lent or Christmastide), with the state of the fortuneteller (sick or pregnant) lose their meaning, since fortune telling is, in principle, not allowed in our Church.

Pregnant women, of course, are a special category, especially when a mother is expecting a child for the first time, and even more so if she has no confidence in the future, if there is no loving spouse nearby (this happens nowadays, unfortunately, more and more often). Let's try to figure out why they turn to sorcerers, what questions might concern them? If you are wondering who will be born, a boy or a girl, now there are modern methods ultrasound and you can quite easily find out who is expecting the birth. Perhaps the anxiety is associated with fear of childbirth - for your life and for the health of the child. But even in this situation, it is worth listening more to yourself, to the recommendations of doctors and praying to God for the safe birth of the child. You should not participate in dark rituals.

The bright and joyful days of Christmastide are much closer in content and depth to the state of a pregnant woman. We rejoice at the Nativity of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord, the memory of St. Basil the Great, the holidays, when we can attend more services, do more good deeds - this is a festive and joyful time that should not be overshadowed by fortune telling. Because in actions aimed at fortune-telling there is no joy and celebration, they are dark and gloomy. In paganism, much of this ritual is associated with the sacrifice of animals, which rather causes rejection and disgust.

The fact is that this desire to “know the future” is used by demons - fallen spirits who, wanting to destroy a person, mislead him and deceive him. Through fortune telling, they tell a person what they need for their purposes, trying to destroy the one who begins to believe their answers to fortune telling. Therefore, if a person takes these predictions seriously, then he may get into trouble. If he considers it a kind of fun, does not attach any meaning, then in modern society such entertainment seems more or less harmless. Although, of course, there is a difference between reading in the newspaper and having nothing to do astrological forecast and special actions aimed at fortune telling, which are directly prohibited to Christians as an appeal to dark forces.

The purpose of evil in this world is one - to destroy a person’s soul, regardless of whether he is baptized or not. Of course, the baptized are protected by the grace of God from this destruction, but all people, especially those who are not enlightened by the light of the Gospel, are defenseless in this “game of fortune-telling”, like blind kittens. Even those who do not recognize any prohibitions, for whom there are no authorities. The sad consequences of spiritual mistakes are felt by everyone. But the one who promised in baptism to live according to the commandments of God, of course, is more guilty of violating them than the one who does not yet know God.

Is it possible to guess in a post?

Vladimir Strelov, rector of the College of Biblical Foundations for Church Preparation
Heritage Ministries

Fortune telling is an attempt to find out the future. Why do we need it? To know how to act and not get into a difficult situation. A person is driven by fear, he wants to protect himself.

But the meaning of fasting is to get closer to God. Everything that is needed will be revealed by Him Himself. And He is the Father, He Himself will protect us from what can harm our eternal soul. Here fears go away, trust and joy appear. It often happened that it was during prayer, while reading Scripture, or from the words of a priest in confession or a sermon that a person received insight into how to live further. God does not leave any person without guidance. But when we are distracted (our normal state), we simply cannot hear anything.

It is important to look for answers to your questions, and not in roundabout ways, with fortune telling and flirting with dark forces. Let's turn to the Gospel: what sets Jesus Christ apart from his contemporaries? He constantly seeks opportunities to be with God, but does not demonstrate his religiosity ostentatiously. He will not impose God on His disciples. To get the most famous prayer, “Our Father,” the students will have to ask the Teacher. It sounds like this:

Our Father who art in heaven!

Hallowed be Thy name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13)

Not petitions and requests come first, but glorifying God and wishes for His Kingdom to finally come. The word Father is used to address God. Not the Creator, not the Lord and Master, but the Father. In the second part of the prayer, God is presented as caring, loving and forgiving, keeping from temptation and delivering from evil. Such a God can not only be feared, but also loved.

Christ establishes only one ritual - the fraternal meal, which will then become the focus of the life of the Church. It is otherwise called the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, which translated from Greek means “thanksgiving.” Participating in such a meal is a real celebration of gratitude and joy of being together. This is precisely the meaning and purpose of fasting, and not fortune telling.

According to Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, fasting should be a time for a person to limit himself in everything that is not essential and necessary. And we do this in order to force ourselves to stand in the face of the only true values, our own conscience, human truth and God’s truth. And besides this, our restriction of ourselves in everything unnecessary should bring benefit and joy to other people. Fasting is a time for gathering oneself and drawing closer to God.

I don’t see a single post on the topic of fortune tellers...

Once upon a time, as a teenager, I went to Sunday school and asked our priest a question: « Why can't you go to fortune tellers and tell fortunes? And, if they are really bad, then why do they use church utensils in their rituals, go to church to pray, and don’t take money...? » .

(I’ll make a reservation right away: he’s an Orthodox priest. He gave lectures on Sundays, after services, and didn’t take money for his services, just throw whatever you wanted into the trash can)

To which he answered me: « The danger lies in the fact that many fortune tellers, clairvoyants..., in order to obtain the information of interest, call spirits of the clan or other spirits from the other world...
(a striking example: “Battle of Psychics”)

So, when a person dies, he does not stay in the next world for long, but moves on: either he is returned back to Earth into a new body, with new tasks..., or he is reborn in other worlds...

When a fortune teller calls someone from the other world, someone will definitely respond to her call, but 99% of the time it’s not the one she’s calling, because he most likely has already been reborn back... - as he said - usually to this Demons come calling, and they help the fortune teller “see.”

The danger lies in the fact that the summoned demons can attach themselves to a person (the fortune teller herself or the client, or someone who did not take part in the ritual, but simply happened to be nearby and inadvertently witnessed the ritual), and the person becomes possessed... In addition, if If the demon does not move in with anyone, then it may not go back - it will remain, and this place will become, as the people say, ruined.

If the fortune teller is a professional, she knows how to protect herself, the client, random witnesses and the place itself from the summoned demons, and after the session she knows how to send them back... But the very fact of communicating with demons already “dirties” all participants in the ritual.

The holy prophets (Matrona, Vanga, etc.) have the “gift” of “seeing” themselves, without resorting to calling anyone from that world, i.e. there is no contact with demons in their rituals - this is what distinguishes them from everyone else, and turning to such people for help, of course, is not a sin. But how can you recognize one during your lifetime, especially if it is not widely known...?

Why do fortune tellers need church utensils...
Ordinary fortune tellers with a “gift” are self-taught, they acquire church utensils: icons, candles, crosses..., and place them in their homes in order to somehow protect themselves and their home from the influence of the dark spirit caused during the ritual. In their rituals, they can read prayers... But, where demons are present... - pray, don’t pray... - There is no God.

Fortune tellers-charlatans buy them to show the client what kind of mega-super fortune teller he ended up with. After all, the charlatan’s task is to convincingly hang noodles on the client’s ears, and get rid of him as best he can. more money, so much so that after that the client would come to her again and again... For such fortune tellers, church utensils are a tool for making money. And, well, if she doesn’t have a “gift”, she’s just a good psychologist... But if she still has a “gift”, and she doesn’t know how to use it correctly, or uses it to harm... Such a Madame can ruin a lot of trouble for you, and what’s more for your own huge money.

“Black” fortune tellers do not hide their communication with demons. They acquire church utensils, in addition to for protection, and for carrying out dark rituals... It is generally accepted that a real “light” fortune teller does not take money, only how much you give or in food... - that’s how it is, but that’s the kind of money for their they don't charge services.

In the same way, almost all fortune tellers go to church, pray, light candles... - they atone for their sins, renew their attribute, and are fueled by the energy of believers...

The holy prophets (Matrona, Vanga, etc.) also have icons and other church utensils, like all believers, including the priests themselves... - for protection and prayers.

So, how can you recognize who is in front of you: the “second Matrona” or a professional fortune teller, an ordinary fortune teller, or a charlatan? Will you be exposed to communication-influence of dark spirits during the ritual or not? Hence the ban on priests... After all, you can go and tell fortunes, no matter what God forbid! And you won’t get off later...

To ordinary people this point is difficult to explain - there are many atheist believers who are convinced that they are the “true believing Orthodox Christians who are the most right-wing”... Therefore, in order not to be verbose, the priests speak briefly and simply, in a way that every believer can understand: “Walk to fortune tellers, fortune telling is a sin! » .

From this conversation, after a while, I came to the conclusion that priests in their sermons do not talk about many things to their flock, they bypass many points..., because he never spoke about such things in his sermons... Our conversation was purely private order, t.s. behind closed doors.
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In the next conversation, I asked the same priest: “What is prayer, and how should you pray?”

( my mother taught me to pray like this: she gave me a Prayer Book, and I had to read 3 times each of the prayers that she indicated...; or, I had to learn by heart some, in her words, the most basic prayers, and read them from memory... But, it always seemed to me that prayer is something more intimate and mysterious... and just re-read what was memorized... , seemed banal to me )

To which the priest answered me: « Prayer is communication with God (or with the Guardian Angel, Saints...). And, of course, rereading what you have memorized does not count as prayer. Nothing should interfere with or distract prayer. Get some privacy. Turn off all irritants (sound, light...). Sit comfortably (or stand up, lie down) and relax, close your eyes. Disconnect from all worries, free your head from all unnecessary thoughts... Now imagine that He is in front of you. Imagine it the way you imagine Him. Imagine that He is sitting (or standing) next to you, looking at you, holding your hand... And start talking to Him as to a friend... Tell Him everything that worries you. Ask Him for help in deciding this or that difficult situation. Ask for forgiveness for certain bad actions. Thank you for certain benefits and experiences... At the moment of communication - he says - you will feel a certain euphoria, grace, as if someone invisible hands They picked you up and rocked you... as if you had grown wings and you were flying... This, he says, is the answer to you from Him, that everything you ask for will be done. After prayer, you will feel warmth in your heart and peace... After such communication, the world will seem brighter, life - simpler, soul - lighter, consciousness - clearer... And a huge, huge love in the heart, for the whole World, even for enemies... » .

From that moment on, I always began to pray, only the way he taught me... And indeed... - what was my surprise when for the first time during prayer I felt the very euphoria that the priest spoke about, and complete satisfaction... From reading my mother’s cramming This has never happened before.

I noticed one nuance: if I am not given what I ask for, this feeling of euphoria is not there - He is silent... This is a sign to me that what I am asking for will not happen. Also, after such a prayer, sometimes I can have an experience in which it directly tells me why I have not been given what I ask for...

Modern people stop praying - they pray outside, but there is no prayer inside. After all, the meaning of prayer is not only to beg for something or read memorized verses from the Prayer Book and other books, but to feel unity with God and love. If this is not the case, prayer is a bluff...

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Communicating with Babyrushka in the comments, I remembered our teacher’s lecture at Sunday School on the topic: “Why can’t you tell fortunes with cards, play solitaire, play them, and also why can’t you play gambling in general?”

Eat ancient legend, I don’t remember its roots anymore...
« ... One of the Angels became proud and rebelled against God. Then God threw this Angel from Heaven to Earth and under the Earth, where he became a demon - a fallen Angel. Afterwards, God “closed” the path of the fallen Angel to Heaven with some mysterious code... Since then, the fallen Angel has been looking for the code of that code throughout the Earth and under the Earth in order to get back to Heaven...
So, in order to increase his chances of finding the right combination, the fallen Angel (demon) involved people in the process of searching for the code... He created cards (as well as dice and other gambling games...) and distributed them among people so that they guessed on them, played solitaire and played, while creating thousands and thousands different combinations... Thus, the demon hopes to soon find the right combination and return to Heaven... After all, one day the cards may work out... » .

That is, according to this legend, by telling fortunes with cards, playing solitaire and playing them, we, as if unconsciously, help the demon solve the combination of the code and get back to Heaven, where he, of course, really, really wants... Hence the ban churches for cards, fortune telling and playing, as well as for dice and other gambling games...
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