Closing his eyes, he bends down and spins the small brochure on the table in front of him, careful not to tear it; the paper will not be handled roughly. Finally coming to a stop, you straighten him out before you. Straightening her right arm and letting the wrist hang loose, she points her index finger downward, bending the 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 Fate” are an oracle first produced as chapter books in the late 17th century. Chapter books were among the earliest examples of printed works for 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 bought up by street vendors and resold to the towns and villages of Europe.

These traveling vendors would carry small, cheap 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 brochures they sold acquired the name chap-books.

The thing to remember is that the “Tablets of Fate” were among the first commonly available writings. Whether they are a true oracle, or just 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 on approximately equal areas of the page. They may 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. Then an Answers table is prepared that covers a range of possible answers. The “Tablets of Fate” require 32 answers, 16 numbers with both upright and reverse meaning.

You would find your answer by placing the “Tablet” graphic in front of you and randomly rotating it to establish its direction, upright or inverted. You would then use your finger, a small stick, or a pencil held in your hand to choose your answer at random.

===> Known Tablets of Fate

The following tablets can be found in various sources under different names.

Sphinx Tablet == Usually consulted first to determine if it is the right time to ask your question. If you receive a favorable answer on the Sphinx Tablet, you will move on to the next tablet.

Moon Tablet (New Moon Spell) == The Moon guards 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.

Venus Tablet (Cupid’s Scroll) == Venus is the Goddess of Love, use it for matters of the heart.

Mars Chart (The 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 said place.

Jupiter Tablet (The Scales of Fate) == It is used when your affairs refer to Justice, worries, doubts or problems with the Law.

===> Modern Impressions of the Oracle

The most complete version of the “Tablets of Fate” that I have found was printed in Diana Hawthorne’s “The Complete Fortune Teller” (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 right now.

A more modern version can be found in (2) books: The Diagram Group’s “Little Giant Encyclopedia of Lucky Numbers” (Sterling Publishing 2001) and The Diagram Group’s “Little Giant Encyclopedia of Fortune Telling” (Sterling Publishing 1999). Both are still in print and can be found at your local bookstore. Unfortunately, two of the “Tablets of Destiny” have been removed from recent Sterling Publishing editions.

You can also find a web page calculator with all the 1940 edition “Tablets” with a little searching. I highly recommend the experience; It sure beats using a magic 8 ball.