Domino Divination

Fortune-Telling With Dominoes

It is believed by some that dominoes, when invented in China around the 12th century, were initially use in divination, or fortune-telling.

Stewart Culin, Director of the Museum of Archaeology and Paleontology at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote in a a paper published in 1893: "Dominoes are regularly used in fortune telling in China at the present day, and their use for this purpose is generally known to the laborers who come to America. I have before me a book entitled "Ngá p'ái shan shò t'ò chü ts'éung kái" (a chart for finding out the numbers by divine aid and with ivory dominoes, with an explanation and commentary). This work was printed in Canton in 1865, the name of the author being given as Ch'ing Ngok." Culin reports that the book "Professes to explain the attributes and astrological significance of the dominoes."

CorryStuart.com reports that Dominoes "are still widely used for fortune telling in Korea and India; and in both India and China there are domino games that combine gambling and augury. Certain tiles are thought to be lucky for a player, regardless of the outcome of the game."

Since dominoes are mathematically structured - each domino having two numbers, each number ranging from 0-6 (or more) - they are naturally suited to being used in puzzles, brainteaser, and mind games.

• Cleromancy - Prediction Using Dominoes - This page is specifically for Domino Cleromancy. Big word; but simply means prediction with dominoes.


• Divination by Dominoes - "A convenient and simple means of home consultation is through the medium of dominoes. In the way that each value of a playing-card is intimately connected with some divinatory significance, so also are the numbers on the face of each domino."


• Dolphin Dilemma Divining with Dominoes - Details the do's and don'ts of divination with dice and dominoes, as well as detailing the meanings of many of the combinations in a double-twelve domino set.


• Domino Divination - An article that discusses domino fortune-telling, with instructions on lying out the dominoes and interpreting the results of the reading.


• Domino Divination - An article from Joe Celko that discusses a deck of tarot cards that uses domino symbols with the meanings of the cards handily printed on the edge of each tile. The deck is called "Gypsies' Domino Divination Deck", by Raymond Buckland.


• Dominoes and Destiny - A short article discussing the origination of dominoes as fortune-telling devices. Also includes an explanation of the meanings of the different domino combinations.


• Free Reading With Dominoes - An online script that will give you a reading based upon a domino chosen at random.