"I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudoscience and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before? Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purpose, or when fanaticism is bubbling up around us - then, habits of thought familiar from ages past reach for the controls."
It has always baffled me the amount of superstitions humans tend to believe in. Of course, I'm human, but the only thing believe in after science is in chance. And chance is pure statistics. So, I'm even off by an inch of my core beliefs.
However, as I turned my head around and have glimpse at social media feeds, I see this trend of believing in all sorts of weird stuff. I don't even need to look further than home to see this is action. My mom loves all these things. The living room is filled with trinkets and all sorts of stuff. Often times, she'll come an tell me about some stupid ritual for whatever. I used to bicker with her about those things, but I never did it again. I let her live her superstitions and believe in them. I don't share anything of that, but it's a measure of peace of mind. Not her beliefs. I see her suffering the same things over and over again.
I guess someone should tell her beliefs don't chance anything if your don't work on yourself. But it isn't going to be me.
Anyways, I remember the time when she went to this big store in Caracas to buy some astrology crap. The place was Paradise for anyone who believes in all this stuff. Specially if you believe in everything. And it was a busy place. People were coming and going buying trinkets, books, amulets, incense and else. I remember mom bought some tarot cards too.
This was to time I used to watch a lot of History Channel and the symbolism of the tarot cards was something cool. I already new how you're supposed to make the readings of the things based on what I had see in shows. Also, by virtue of the shows, I had understood how everything is that looks the part is actually a sham. The name of the game is finding a sucker and ripping them off.
I took the deck and opened it. Along the cards, there was a pamphlet with some references for the cards and a very important note at the end of it. It said something about having great imagination to make a convincing read.
Convincing, huh?
I laughed really hard and put the cards back in the box.
It wasn't until I got to study Semiotics in college that I went back ti the deck to study the symbolism of the cards more closely. Tarot cards are full of things embedded in the collective unconscious of humanity. It works the same as numerology. If you look for a pattern, you're likely to find it.
Out professor told us that if you had a very deep knowledge of psychoanalysis, you could use a reading to see something in your unconscious. She also reminded us we were Teachers in training and not students of Psychology.
And of course, people tense advantage of these things. It's an unspoken tradition. Oracles and seers are still regarded as very important people. Some of them make a lot of money for the crap they sell. No different from a Con-person.
In the same way a person who reads the Tarot needs a lot of imagination, I bet they do the research needed for making themselves sound convincing. And so on do psychics, mediums and else. Their targets are usually these "open-minded" people seeking some truth that's written on their faces and which these individuals take pride in reading, for a price.
I think that if you wanted to throw your money away, you could put it in your Hive account as HP and do something that's more tangible than a riddle about your future. Investing gives you something for taking the risk. Going to any of the things I already mentioned also costs you money.
This isn't financial advice.
But don't let my words get you away from your superstitions. You're free to believe planets mess your days, cards can tell you the future and people can comune with the dead. I mean why you wouldn't. Religion is sorta the same thing. But that's a topic for another post.
Do you believe in any of these things? What are your experiences? Feel free to share them in the comments below of try to convince me of believing in these shams.
Have a great weekend! But don't let people rip your off.
Stay creative!
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