Omikuji

Omikuji (御御籤, 御神籤, or おみくじ) are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred lot", these are usually received by making a small offering (generally a five-yen coin as it is considered good luck) and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting fortune to be good. (As of 2011 coin-slot machines sometimes dispense omikuji.) The omikuji is scrolled up or folded, and unrolling the piece of paper reveals the fortune written on it. It includes a general blessing which can be any one of the following: Great blessing (dai-kichi, 大吉) Middle blessing (chū-kichi, 中吉) Small blessing (shō-kichi, 小吉) Blessing (kichi, 吉) Half-blessing (han-kichi, 半吉) Future blessing (sue-kichi, 末吉) Future small blessing (sue-shō-kichi, 末小吉) Curse (kyō, 凶) Small curse (shō-kyō, 小凶) Half-curse (han-kyō, 半凶) Future curse (sue-kyō, 末凶) Great curse (dai-kyō, 大凶) It then lists fortunes regarding specific aspects of one's life, which may include any number of the following among other possible combinations: 方角 (hogaku) - auspicious/inauspicious directions (see feng shui) 願事 (negaigoto) – one's wish or desire 待人 (machibito) – a person being waited for 失せ物 (usemono) – lost article(s) 旅立ち (tabidachi) – travel 商い (akinai) – business dealings 學問 (gakumon) – studies or learning 相場 (souba) – market speculation 爭事 (arasoigoto) – disputes 戀愛 (renai) – romantic relationships 転居 (tenkyo) – moving or changing residence 出產 (shussan) – childbirth or pregnancy 病気 (byōki) – illness 縁談 (endan) – marriage proposal or engagement