Closing her eyes, she bends down and spins the little booklet on the table in front of her, careful not to tear it; the paper will not be handled roughly. Stopping finally, you straighten it out before you. Straightening her right arm and letting her wrist hang loose, she points down with her index finger, curling her other fingers back. Finally, with your eyes still closed, you lower your stiff arm until your finger touches the paper; and opening your eyes you look at the little table of scrambled numbers to see which one you have chosen.
===> History of Tablets
The “Tablets of Destiny” are an oracle first produced as chapter books in the late 17th century. Chapter books were among the first examples of printed works for the common people. Made in large numbers and printed on the cheapest rag paper, these little 4 x 6-inch booklets were the dime novels of their day. They were sold in shops and market stalls in the city, and then were bought by street vendors and resold to the towns and villages of Europe.
These traveling vendors would carry small inexpensive items that they could buy and resell from their packs as they traveled. In the vernacular of the time they were called chap-men, buyers and sellers of cheap goods. Therefore, the pamphlets that they sold acquired the name of chap-books.
The thing to remember is that the “Tablets of Destiny” were among the earliest commonly available writings. Whether they are a true oracle, or simply a parlor game, their history is as old as playing cards.
===> Methodology
The idea behind the oracle is simple. Each “Tablet” represents a different category of questions that will fall into a common set of answers. A tablet is created consisting of 16 numbers scrambled in an odd arrangement in approximately equal areas of the page. They can be in a square (Venus Tablet), a circle (Moon Tablet), or diamond-shaped (Jupiter Tablet), as long as the area enclosing each number is approximately equal on the page. An Answers table is then prepared covering a range of possible answers. The “Tablets of Destiny” require 32 answers, 16 numbers with both vertical and reverse meaning.
You would look for your answer by placing the graph with the “Tablet” in front of you and randomly rotating it to set its direction, upright or inverted. Then you would use your finger, a small stick, or a pencil held in your hand to choose your answer at random.
===> Known Destiny Tablets
The following tablets can be found in various sources under different names.
Tablet of the Sphinx == It is usually consulted first to determine if it is the right time to ask your question. If he receives a favorable answer on the Sphinx Tablet, he will proceed to the next tablet.
Moon Tablet (New Moon Spell) == The Moon guards the Home; use it to ask about matters related to home, family and friends.
Tablet of Mercury (The Magnetic Horseshoe) == Mercury is the Lord of the Crossroads; Use this tablet for travel and travel related issues.
Tablet of Venus (Cupid’s Scroll) == Venus is the goddess of Love, use it for matters of the heart.
Mars Chart (Symbolic Swastika) == use this chart when your question is about work, business, or money.
** (The Lucky Bell) == Used for problems related to a letter (or in modern terms, an email)
Tablet of the Sun (Spell of the Rising Sun) == Used when the subject refers to Time.
** (The Seal of Solomon) == Issues related to a Large Building (Temple, Office Building, Hospital, etc.) or someone related to such a place.
Jupiter Tablet (The Scales of Destiny) == It is used when your issues refer to Justice, concerns, doubts or problems with the Law.
===> Modern Oracle Prints
The most complete version of the “Tablets of Destiny” that I have found was printed in “The Complete Fortune Teller” by Diana Hawthorne (Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., New York, 1940), and in an English edition of it. book “Laurie’s Complete Fortune Teller” by Diana Hawthorn (W and G Foyle, Ltd, London, 1946). A copy of the English edition was recently put up for sale on E-bay and is still showing up on search engines. Obviously these are out of stock at the moment.
A more modern version can be found in (2) books: “Little Giant Encyclopedia of Lucky Numbers” by The Diagram Group (Sterling Publishing 2001) and “Little Giant Encyclopedia of Fortune Telling” by The Diagram Group (Sterling Publishing 1999). Both are still in print and can be found at your local bookstore. Sadly, two of the “Tablets of Destiny” have been dropped from recent Sterling Publishing editions.
You can also find a web page calculator with all the 1940 edition “Tablets” with a bit of searching. I highly recommend the experience; It sure beats using a magic 8 ball.
