You're walking down the street when a small basement storefront catches your eye.

You look around to see if anyone notices you before walking down a few steps and tentatively pushing the door open.

A bell jingles, announcing your presence. It's quiet.

And then a voice from the other room says,

Come in.

At the back of the store, a woman wearing a colorful scarf

and mysterious-looking jewelry offers you a seat

across from her at the table.

She begins to shuffle a deck of cards.

Did you come in here to have your fortune told?

She says.

Um, yes, you gulp, suddenly anxious.

How much does it cost? Oh, not much, she says, pausing and

looking deep into your eyes. Just a piece of your eternal soul. Ha ha ha!

Okay, so maybe I got a little carried away with that story.

But what did you think?

Does that sound like the idea of a fortune teller you might have in your head?

If I say the words crystal ball or palm reading, who or what do you picture?

What about if I say the words tarot cards?

If you ask most people about any of these things, they may describe a scene something like the one I just made up.

Even though those three things, palm reading, crystal balls, and tarot cards, have little to do with one another, and pretty much nothing to do with what I described.

So where did that idea come from? Of all the things that we associate with, there's a lot more to

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