Delphic fortune telling. Online fortune-telling: are the predictions of the “Delphic dumplings” true?

Fortune telling with Tarot cards is one of the oldest and most effective magical rituals. There are a large number of layouts and types of fortune telling. The Delphic Oracle fortune telling is considered one of the most reliable and ancient.

Description of fortune telling

The origin of this fortune telling is associated with magical rituals that priestesses and oracles performed in the temple of Apollo, the sun god. It was located in an ancient Greek city called Delphi, hence the name of the ritual.

In the modern world, fortune telling with Tarot cards and a solitaire game called the Delphic Oracle have nothing in common with the magical rituals performed by the ancient Greeks. In those distant times, people turned to the gods to find an answer to a question of interest or to hear advice for making an important decision.

With the help of this fortune telling a person can:

Find out the answers to many questions, find a way out of the current situation, and make a vital decision.
Look into the future and find out the outcome of many events, determine how to avoid negative consequences.
Make a cherished wish and find out if it will come true.
Find out what is happening in the life of your loved one.
Find out whether the fortuneteller’s feelings are mutual, what fate awaits him.

Preparation process

Many people resort to this layout when fortune telling about relationships and love, because it is quite simple in its implementation and always gives the most accurate answer to the question posed. The process of fortune telling is simple; to prepare, you must complete the following points:

Buy a deck of Tarot cards. It is important that this deck is new and has not been used previously in magical rituals, because the energetic connection between the cards and their owner is an integral point during any fortune telling.
Then you should thoroughly study the meaning of each card. The image should be imprinted as clearly as possible in the mind of the fortuneteller and evoke vivid, precise associations. Understanding the meanings of the elements will help strengthen the connection between the magician and his tarot cards.
Before fortune telling, you should completely clear your mind of extraneous and unnecessary thoughts. Only a clear mind will be able to contact higher powers. The state should be relaxed and peaceful.
It is important that the fortuneteller believes in a higher power. If even a shadow of doubt creeps into his subconscious, the entire magical ritual can have a negative impact on him.

Conducting fortune telling

Using the Delphic Oracle fortune telling is not difficult, you just need to follow a few steps:

First, you should carefully shuffle the deck. This will also help establish a connection between the cards and their owner.
It is worth focusing your attention on the issue of interest and mentally addressing it to the spirit. Questions may concern the feelings of the partner, the feelings of the object of affection, and even regarding the future in the person’s love sphere.
Then, holding the deck in your left hand, take out three cards one by one with your right hand and place them face down on the table in the same sequence.
Turn over the cards, carefully study their meaning and make a picture of the prediction.

There is also a free online fortune telling called the Delphic Oracle. This is an option for those who do not want to delve into the study of Tarot cards. The main disadvantage of this method is its unreliability, because in the case of real cards it is the energy connection that is important: it is impossible to say that the information is 100% true.

The meaning of the cards

Each of the three playing cards laid out on the table has its own meaning in compiling the overall picture of the prediction. The answer it will give to a fortuneteller depends on the count it was taken from the general deck:

The top card of the deck speaks about the situation in a person’s personal life at the moment. With its help, you can determine what feelings a person is experiencing, whether he is in a relationship, and at what stage of development they are.
The second card will tell you how to correct mistakes made in relationships with your significant other, what you should change in yourself and your behavior, how to get out of a difficult situation or how to improve it.
The third card helps you look into the future. She talks about the imminent changes that will happen in a person’s life, about how his relationship with his partner will develop. She is also able to point out the potential risks of negative situations and other difficulties, and helps to avoid them or negative consequences.

Also important is what position the card is in. An upright and inverted Tarot card has different effects on a person’s destiny.

Secrets of the Delphic Oracle

Conclusion

Among the variety of magical rituals, fortune telling with Tarot cards occupies a special place. Delphic Oracle Solitaire is especially popular among those who want to tell their fortunes for love. To do this, you should thoroughly prepare and study the meaning of all cards. Free online fortune telling by the Delphic oracle is also common on the Internet, but is not a full-fledged analogue of a live ritual.

Tarot cards have been used for fortune telling and magical rituals since ancient times. Fortune telling Delphic oracle is a way to help you find out about future events. Prediction will allow you to prepare for the trials of fate and make the right decisions.

Features of fortune telling

Fortune telling with the help of the Delphic oracle is associated with rituals performed in the temple of Apollo in the city of Delphi. Fortune telling involves the use of Tarot and solitaire. Today it differs from ancient magical rituals.

During the fortune-telling process, questions relating to different areas are asked:

making an important decision, finding a way out of a difficult situation;
the likelihood and timing of fulfillment of cherished desires;
future events, ways to avoid consequences;
the lover's reciprocal feelings.

Preparation

Fortune telling using the Delphic Oracle allows you to get an accurate answer to a question and find the right solution.

The preparation is as follows:

you need to buy a new Tarot deck; it must be energetically connected with the owner, otherwise the result will be unreliable;
a person must study all the arcana and their meanings; these images will be reflected in the fortuneteller’s subconscious and strengthen the connection;
It is important for a fortuneteller to clear his mind of thoughts, concentrate on the process in order to establish a connection with Higher powers, and relax;
you need to believe in fortune telling; any doubts have a negative impact on the magical ritual.

Card meanings

The fortuneteller draws 3 Tarot cards, and then interprets them in the order in which they fell:

The top card symbolizes personal life. She will tell you what the feelings of those around you and your loved one are towards the fortuneteller, and will tell you about imminent love.
Using the second lasso, it will be possible to determine how to correct mistakes, change behavior, character, and restore lost connections.
The third lasso will help you see the future. It is used to determine how the life of the fortuneteller will change and what the relationship with the partner will be like. He will point out disappointments, risks, difficulties, and help avoid them.

The prediction depends on the position of the lasso.

Online fortune telling

The Delphic Oracle is a simple fortune-telling game that exists online. To use it, a person does not need knowledge or skills; he must distract himself from what is happening and think about an important issue. When you press the button, a prediction will appear, which will be the answer to the question.

The ritual helps to understand another person, his feelings and thoughts.

Online fortune telling will answer questions about the future. Playing cards indicate opportunities, allow you to draw conclusions and make the right decisions.

Soothsayer and Oracle
painting by Roger Payne

Ancient people believed that human life is determined by fate and destiny. Even the gods were largely subject to the dictates of fate, although it was the duty of Zeus, head of the Greek pantheon, to ensure that their lives followed the destined path. People believed that it was possible to lift the veil of the future, and if necessary, they turned to various oracles for advice. The most famous was the oracle of the god of predictions Apollo, located near Delphi. Priests-soothsayers helped to find out fate by interpreting the will of the deity, or signs, such as thrown dice. A special type of fortune telling was auspices - observations of the flight and cry of birds, extremely popular in Ancient Rome. The future, its inhabitants believed, could be determined by lot or the type of sacrifices burned. Another type of prophecy was dreams sent by the gods, sometimes, however, only to confuse people. For predictions, it was customary to turn to oracles, both living and dead. The Romans also often cast lots to try to determine their fate, but very rarely resorted to prophecy in matters of politics.

Oracle (lat. oraculum) - in ancient times one of the means by which a person tried to enter into direct communication with a deity. The utterances of the oracle were considered revelations of the deity; they were obtained by asking in a certain place, through well-known intermediaries, most of them the priests of a given deity, who were also interpreters of the revelation received. All oracles can be placed under three categories: predictions were received either in the form of maxims, or in the form of symbols, or in the form of dreams. In the most famous oracle of all - the Delphic - the intoxicating vapors emerging from a cleft in the rock brought the prophetess into a state of clairvoyance; in Dodona, the will of the deity was judged by the movements of leaves on a sacred oak tree, by the sounds emanating from metal vessels, by the murmur of a sacred spring; in Delos, they followed the rustle of a laurel tree. In the oracle of Zeus of Ammon in Libya - behind the famous phenomena in the image of the deity, composed of precious stones; in Rome, by order of the Senate and in the presence of the magistrate, the Sibylline books were opened.

It is difficult to judge how convinced the priests themselves were of the truth of the revelations; in any case, to see in the oracles only a conscious deception on the part of the priests would be a one-sided judgment and devoid of historical perspective. Even the vague form of answers, especially characteristic of the Delphic oracle, does not in itself indicate deliberate deception, although it cannot be denied that the priests often ensured their infallibility by ambiguity in answers suitable for any occasion. The appearance of the oracle in this place was due either to a beneficent source, with which Greek thought usually associated the proximity of the deity, or to a natural phenomenon (steam from a hot spring, etc.), which caused a state of exaltation. Oracles also arose in areas where the remains of some famous clairvoyant were buried. In the latter case, the inquirers were usually personally exposed to the spiritualizing action of the deity; for example, in the oracle of Amphiaraus, the questioner, after three days of abstinence from wine and a one-day fast, had to fall asleep in the temple so that the will of the deity would be revealed to him in a dream.

painting by artist John Augustus Knapp

The purpose of the oracle was not only to reveal the future, but also to guide the life of the people on behalf of the deity in those exceptional cases when human wisdom turned out to be untenable. Government officials also resorted to oracles when their personal authority was insufficient to carry out one or another measure. Therefore, for certain periods of Greek history, oracles take on the meaning of political institutions. The oracles, whose advice was sought in all important undertakings, greatly contributed to maintaining the consciousness of national unity among the scattered Greeks and the implementation of pan-Greek enterprises. They patronized agricultural culture, the colonization of new lands, etc.

The most ancient of all oracles was considered to be the oracle in Meroe, in Egypt, and it was immediately followed by the oracle in Egyptian Thebes and the oracle of Zeus of Ammon. In Greece, the oracle at Dodona enjoyed the greatest authority, and later the oracle at Delphi. In addition, Zeus had his oracles in Elis, Pisa and Crete, Apollo - in Claros near Colophon and on Delos. The Branchidae oracle at Miletus was dedicated to Apollo and Artemis. The oracles of the heroes were the oracle of Amphiaraus in Oropos, the oracles of Tryphonius and Hercules in Bura and Achaia. Oracles calling upon the spirits of the departed existed in Heraclea Pontus and on Lake Avernus. The sayings of the so-called Sibyls, especially the Eritrean and (in Italy) Cumaean, should also be counted among the oracles. The Romans had the oracles of Faun and Fortune in Praeneste, the Palikov oracle; but they willingly turned to both Greek and Egyptian oracles. In Greece, oracles lost their significance only after the complete collapse of the freedom and independence of the Greeks, but even then, deprived of any authority, they eked out their existence until the reign of Theodosius, when they were finally closed.

Delphic Sibyl
(Pythia), Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome

Pythia (Πῡθία) - seer in Delphi. At the Delphic sanctuary in ancient times, when the oracle was apparently consulted only once a year, there were two Pythia and one deputy; subsequently, with more frequent questioning of the oracle, there was only one Pythia. The Pythia was chosen regardless of social class. Devotion to Apollo and chastity were required of her. The first Pythia of the Delphic Oracle were virgins. But when one of them was seduced by a petitioner who came for advice, they began to choose mature married women with children or old women instead of virgins, in order to avoid similar cases of discrediting the authoritative oracle in the future. The Pythia refused to give prophecies to a person defiled by a crime. She prepared for divination by fasting for three days and bathing in the Kastal spring; Before divination, she put on luxurious clothes, laid a laurel wreath on her head, drank the water of the Kassotis spring and chewed a leaf of the sacred laurel. Then she sat on a colossal tripod that stood over the chasm, and, falling into ecstasy from the stupefying vapors, she prophesied. These fumes were harmful. There is a known case when a Pythia fell from a tripod unconscious and died. Perhaps Plutarch described it when he witnessed how the priests forced the Pythia to work on an odd day. Against her wishes, she descended into Aditon and suddenly screamed piercingly, collapsed to the ground, and died a few days later. In ancient times, prophecies were given once a year - on the birthday of Apollo - 7 Bisius (mid-February - mid-March), when he returned from the Hyperboreans. From the 6th century BC, they began to be held monthly on the seventh day, except for the three winter months, when Apollo stayed with the Hyperboreans, and even later - daily, except on unclean days.

The Delphic Oracle is a soothsayer at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. According to Greek mythology, it was founded by Apollo himself at the site of his victory over the monstrous serpent Python. The Delphic oracle, led by the Pythia, was one of the main oracles in the Hellenic world. The heyday of the Delphic Oracle dates back to the 7th–5th centuries BC, when it acted as a mediator in intercity conflicts. It was customary to turn to the oracle on all important issues of public and personal life. A political union was achieved with Sparta, which became the secular sword of the temple. Embassies with rich gifts from many kingdoms of the Ancient World hurried to Delphi. Midas presented the temple with a golden throne as a gift. Croesus was a fan of the Delphic Apollo. The weakening of the influence of the temple began since the Greco-Persian Wars, when Delphi took the side of the Persians, hoping to become the religious center of the Persian Empire of the Persian Empire. But even during the time of Roman rule, money deposits from different regions of the Mediterranean were kept in the temple. The temple was plundered several times, burned during the invasion of the Gauls in 279 BC, and under Emperor Theodosius (391) it was finally closed.

The history of the temple began with the fact that one day goats wandering between the rocks of Parnassus, approaching a certain hole from which vapors were coming out, suddenly began to have an extraordinary convulsive movement. The people who came running also felt the effect of these fumes: in the insanity of their minds, they began to abruptly utter incoherent words. Immediately these words were taken for predictions (oracles), and the steam coming out of the earthly hole was taken for divine inspiration. The famous temple was built on this site. Initially, the oracle belonged to Gaia, was guarded by the dragon Python, or Delphinius, and the place was called Pytho (ancient Greek πύθω - to rot). The first prophetess of Gaia was the mountain nymph Daphne (ancient Greek ἡ δάφνη - laurel). From her mother Gaia, Themis received the Delphic oracle, which she passed on to her sister Phoebe, and she passed it on to her grandson Apollo, who, having learned the art of divination from Pan, arrived at Delphi, where he killed the dragon Python guarding the entrance to the oracle and took possession of the oracle. The dark chthonic prophecies of the son of the Earth gave way to the will of Zeus, the father of the gods and the organizer of the new, Olympian cosmic order, the spokesman of which was the “thrower of solar rays”, causing vapors in the earth for divination. After the dragon's defeat, Apollo collected its ashes in a sarcophagus and instituted mourning games in honor of Python. Apollo then went to look for priests for his temple. At sea he saw a ship coming from Knossos, in Crete. Turning into a dolphin, he, by the power of his spell, led the ship to Chris, where he revealed himself to the sailors and told them about their destiny. In Chris, the sailors erected an altar to Apollo and it was called Delphic, in honor of the image in which Apollo appeared to them. From Chrisa the sailors went to Parnassus, where they became the first priests of the temple of Apollo. Bees brought a wax temple from the country of the Hyperboreans, and all subsequent temples were built according to its model.
The Temple of Apollo, located in the picturesque mountainous area of Delphi, was the most revered site in ancient Greece. The townspeople came here for help, hoping to solve their everyday problems and improve their health; warriors - for advice before battle; immigrants heading to Italy, Spain or Africa awaited his parting words. The oracle supported Orestes in his intention to avenge the murder of his father and predicted to Oedipus that he would kill his father and marry his mother.

Temple of Apollo of Pytheas
Delphi

The description of the sanctuary is given by the ancient historian Pausanias in the X book of his “Description of Hellas”. In the city of Delphi, the Kastalia stream flowed, originating from a gorge between two rocks - the Phaedriades, at the foot of which there was a sanctuary. The sacred district was filled with statues, all kinds of dedicatory structures, sometimes reaching the size of entire buildings, etc. The temple itself was built in the Doric style and had rich sculptural decoration. The entire architrave was hung with shields obtained from the Persians and Gauls. In the pronaos were inscribed the sayings of the seven sages (“Know thyself”, “Nothing in excess”, etc.) and there was a sacred image of the symbol “E” in three copies: wooden, dedicated to the seven sages, bronze - by the Athenians and gold - by the empress Libya. In the inner part of the temple (aditon), inaccessible to questioners, there was a golden statue of Apollo, a laurel tree, a white marble Omphalus with two golden eagles, and under it was a sarcophagus with the ashes of Python. In the sanctuary itself, where no one except the Pythia and the priests were allowed, there was a famous cleft in the rock, from which intoxicating vapors emerged. Above her stood a tripod, on which the Pythia sat to bring herself into ecstasy under the influence of the vapors. Initially, the Pythia was chosen from young girls, but after one of them failed to maintain her virginity, an older girl was chosen. At the edge of the chasm there was the spring of Cassotis, the water of which the Pythia drank before divination, and a laurel tree, the leaves of which she chewed. This tree was shaken by some unknown means. Here was also the so-called “navel of the earth” - a cone-shaped elevation made of marble, entwined with sacred bandages. Of the countless number of dedications (after the massive export of works of art to Rome, under Nero, there were still up to 3,000 statues left), the colossal golden tripod, dedicated by the Greeks from barbarian booty after the Battle of Plataea, deserves special mention. Its golden bowl was supported from below by a bronze column in the form of three coiled snakes. All the golden parts became the prey of the Phocians, but the bronze column, on which the names of all the Greek states that fought the Persians are written, was transported by Constantine the Great to Constantinople, where it is now located. On the walls of the so-called “Lesha of the Cnidians” were the most famous compositions of Polygnotus, depicting the fall of Troy and the underworld. Near Delphi, in the spurs of Parnassus, there is also a stalactite grotto, dedicated in ancient times to the nymphs and Pan.

Wanting to look into the future and find answers to their questions, people use various methods. Some people lay out the cards; for others, coffee grounds are a more reliable source. But the simplest and most modern option is online fortune telling, which allows you to quickly and without unnecessary hassle find out what to expect from the future. Let's get to know him better.

Description

“Delphic dumpling” is a modern way to find out fate. As you know, in ancient times, the ancient Greeks often turned to the oracle at Delphi in order not only to find out the fate of an individual, but also to predict the outcome of a battle and resolve other important state issues. Therefore, it is not surprising that the word “Delphi” is strongly associated with the most accurate and reliable predictions. Therefore, a large number of interactive fortune-telling have appeared where this word is used. “Delphic dumpling” became one of them.

Working with it is very simple and does not require any effort from a person. It is enough to mentally formulate the question that currently occupies the fortuneteller the most. Next, click on the special button on the monitor screen (where it says “Press”). A few seconds of waiting - and everyone will receive their own clue of fate.

Prediction options

Fortune telling “Delphic dumpling” is convenient because it gives a lengthy answer to the question and offers specific advice that can be used. Thus, all answers are divided into several cycles, within each of them separate categories are distinguished, so it can be noted that there is a narrowly limited, although quite impressive, list of predictions.

Advantages

Online fortune telling has a large number of positive aspects:

They often come to the rescue even in the most difficult moments of life, and it doesn’t matter whether the fortuneteller believes in them or not. Advice that contains predictions is universal in nature and is suitable as a way out of many difficult situations.
Such fortune telling helps to have fun.
Having received a positive answer to his question, the person will be determined to win and will do everything possible to ensure that the prediction turns out to be true.
On the contrary, a negative answer often evokes a desire to prove that the “Delphic Dumpling” was wrong. Therefore, fortune tellers will make every effort, forming a powerful energy field around themselves, and fate will change its decision.

A rather impressive list of advantages has led to the fact that the method of finding out your future with the help of a mysterious dumpling is becoming increasingly popular not only among young people, but also among serious adult people.

Flaws

Let's look at the disadvantages of the popular fortune telling “Delphic dumplings”:

Some predictions are formulated “clumsily” and you have to use your imagination to understand what exactly the unusual oracle had in mind.
Having received a negative answer, some people give up without a fight, not even daring to try. On the contrary, a positive answer will encourage even quite energetic individuals to do nothing, reasoning like this: “why make extra efforts if fate is already on my side.”

This is why various online predictors, including Delphic Dumpling, should be used carefully. This is just a hint from fate, and not its final decision. Prediction is one of all possible options, if you reconsider your line of behavior a little, start acting more decisively, or, on the contrary, more carefully. The answer to the question next time may be completely different.

The Delphic Oracle is one of the most famous mystical phenomena of antiquity. This phrase usually refers to both the place of divination - the temple of Apollo in the Greek city of Delphi, and the soothsayer himself, or more precisely, the soothsayer, the Pythia priestess. In addition, it is sometimes called the Delphic Oracle and tarot card fortune telling.

Oracles in Ancient Greece

In ancient times, it was a common practice to turn to the messengers of the gods in search of a solution to a difficult situation. At some temples there lived specially trained priests, whom we now call oracles - from the Latin word ōrāre “to speak.” The Greek word for predictor of the future is chrysmos.

Most often, the oracles were men, and only in Delphi did a priestess prophesy. Conversion to the temple was available only to wealthy people, and ordinary people were content with the predictions of wandering sorcerers. The oracle's predictions also stood apart from other types of fortune-telling - through the intermediary priest, the gods gave a direct answer to the question asked, and did not send a sign requiring solving, as in mantic fortune-telling.

Temple of the Delphic Oracle

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi became a refuge for the most powerful forces of interpretation of the future. The predictions of the Pythia from the temple were considered the most true and accurate, which brought more and more visitors here.

It is believed that originally on the sacred Mount Parnassus, on the site of a temple dedicated to Apollo, there was a sanctuary of the goddess Gaia. The personification of Earth and Nature, Gaia belonged to those ancient and chaotic gods who were destined to give way to the ordered pantheon of the young Olympian gods. The legend about the emergence of the Delphic Temple is associated with this transition from the veneration of chaotic forces to the light cult of Apollo. Before founding his own temple, Apollo killed the guard of the sanctuary of Gaia - the underground dragon Python (hence the name of the priestess Pythia).

Then Apollo needed priests for a new temple. Turning into a dolphin, he rushed into the sea and caught up with a Cretan ship passing nearby. Apollo told the sailors about the new sanctuary and they turned towards Mount Parnassus. These sailors became the first priests in the Delphic Temple, which was named after the appearance of Apollo in the form of a dolphin. And the first Pythian priestess, according to legend, was Femonoia, the daughter of Apollo. She is credited with the invention of the hexameter poetic meter - the same one used to write Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

Real story

Myths and legends depict the real history of the Delphic oracle, fortune telling and the temple. Apparently, there was indeed a sanctuary on this site even before the arrival of Greek culture to these lands. It is believed that the temple was founded in the 9th-8th centuries BC, and its heyday occurred in the 7th-5th centuries BC. e. The temple building was rebuilt several times; the current ruins are the remains of a building from the 4th century BC. The temple ended its existence in the 4th century AD, when the Roman Emperor Theodosius, who revered the Christian faith, ordered it to be closed as a stronghold of paganism.

Cult of the Pythia Priestess

It is not known exactly how exactly the main character of the Delphic Oracle, the Pythia priestess, was chosen. Originally, she was a chaste young girl leading a righteous life. Having assumed the rights of a priestess, she bequeathed her life to Apollo and could not have a husband and family. True, history mentions a case when a man who came to ask for advice from the gods became inflamed with passion for a young and beautiful priestess and kidnapped her. After this, the priestesses were chosen from adult women, aged 50 years and older, but they were dressed in clothes that belonged to young maidens in order to pay tribute to tradition. The Pythia could also be chosen from among married women - then she left family life and completely devoted herself to God.

Divination ritual

The process of prediction in the temple of Apollo was not just fortune telling: the Delphic oracle demanded compliance with the ritual from both the priestess herself and the supplicant. Anyone who intended to ask for advice from the gods had to first undergo purification (be clean physically and spiritually), make a certain sacrifice to the gods and a certain payment to the priests. Initially, you could only ask once a year on Apollo's birthday. As the temple's popularity grew, pilgrims began to be received every month.

Before the ritual, the priestess herself had to undergo a washing ceremony in the Castal spring next to the temple and put on golden clothes, and put on her head a wreath of laurel branches - a plant considered a symbol of Apollo. Immediately before the prediction, the priestess chewed laurel and drank water from the spring. Then she walked inside the temple, where the fun began.

It was believed that the priestess received the opportunity to interpret the future thanks to miraculous vapors rising from the ground. The temple was located directly above the crevasse - there was a crack in the floor, from where mysterious fumes rose. The evidence of contemporaries of the Delphic Oracle differs: some indicate that the priestess, having inhaled the vapors, was in a semi-insane state. While in this trance, she muttered unclear words and sentences, which were interpreted by other priests. Others claim that the priestess maintained her sanity and herself answered the questioner’s request. What is interesting: no traces of cracks in the floor have been preserved in the modern ruins of the Delphic Temple.

Whatever the reality, much evidence has been preserved about the accuracy of the Pythia’s answers. Many famous figures of antiquity visited here in search of clues - King Croesus and the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip, came to the Delphic oracle to tell fortunes.

Not only an oracle: Delphi as the center of the world

The Delphic temple was known not only as the abode of a fortune teller. According to legend, it was here that the center of the then world, simply called the Navel of the Earth, was located. In fact, the Navel of the Earth was not just a place, but a specific object - Omphalus, a large stone that, according to legend, Zeus dropped to Earth in the place where two eagles flying from different ends of the world collided. According to another version, Omphalus was the very stone that was swallowed instead of the baby Zeus by his father, Kronos, who ate his children because of the prophecy that one of them was destined to take away his power over the world and the other gods. The omphalos stone was kept inside the temple, and on either side of it were two golden eagles - two statues reminiscent of the origin of the shrine.

In a sense, Delphi truly became the center of ancient Greece. The priests of the Delphic Oracle were an influential force - even statesmen came here to ask for advice before important political and economic decisions. Many of the threads of managing society were concentrated in the hands of the priests - nothing prevented them from interpreting the will of the gods according to their own desires. Ancient historians cite several famous examples of false prophecies committed for the selfish purposes of priests. True, they also testify that the gods do not tolerate deception, and for all participants such transactions ended in misfortune, even death.

Pythian games

The city of Delphi also went down in history as the site of the so-called Pythian Games. In addition to the Olympic Games, there were three more similar pan-Greek competitions in Hellas, held every four years - the Pythian, Isthmian and Nemean Games. The Pythian were second in importance after the Olympic and were held a year before the latter. It was believed that Apollo himself established these games after defeating the dragon Pythias. Before each game, this event was recalled by a theatrical performance, symbolically depicting the victory of Apollo over the chthonic forces in the person of the serpent.

Tarot spread “Delphic Oracle”

The fame of the soothsayers from Delphi continues to this day. Often the usual three-card Tarot spread is called the Delphic Oracle (as on playing cards). Most likely, this name arose because of the simplicity and accuracy of this layout. It features only three cards drawn out in turn, symbolizing:

the current situation regarding your question;
what to do to get out of this situation;
what will be the development of events in the future.

Some practitioners recommend removing the minor arcana from the Tarot deck to make fortune telling even more accurate. If you use the “Delphic Oracle” fortune telling on playing cards, then, of course, you will need a full deck, since the number of interpretations of a regular deck is not as extensive as in the case of Tarot cards.

Other fortune telling: how else did they predict fate in Ancient Greece

In ancient times, various magical practices occupied a place of honor in daily life. Other methods of predicting the future that spread throughout the ancient world were in considerable competition with the Delphic oracle: fortune telling by the behavior of birds, the entrails of animals, interpretation of dreams, lines on the hand, and, ultimately, astrology.

Each type of predicting the future eventually acquired its own name, most often borrowed from the Latin language (in fact, like the name “Delphic Oracle”). Fortune telling on an egg, for example, was called oomancy or ovomancy. Fortune telling by bird behavior - auspicion. And people who predicted the future from the entrails of sacrificial animals began to be called haruspices.

Modern oracles

In its modern interpretation, the word “oracle” is often used for any predictive system, be it online fortune telling or fortune telling with playing cards. The Delphic oracle in this regard can be considered a kind of symbol of the role of predictions in human life.

An oracle is often called a deck of cards in which a ready-made prediction is already written on each card. In some ways you can discern a similarity with the Delphic Oracle: you can guess on such a deck without the ability to interpret the cards. It’s as if you come to a temple and the gods communicate their will to you through the lips of a Pythia priestess.