Gong Hee Fot Choy

This is a divination set I have that used to belong to a friend of my grandmother. It says "thirty-first edition" and was published in 1948.

The system is made out to be ancient Chinese, but I think that was just a play to the sense of the exotic. The set is a book and a spread sheet. The sheet is divided into rows of houses with titles such as Papers, Money, Health, Relatives, Wishes, Inquirer, etc. There are 32 houses. You use regular playing cards, discarding the jokers and all the twos through the sixes, so you have 32 cards, which you then shuffle and lay out one in each house. The book has a meaning for each card in each house, so you go through and figure out your fortune.

At the end of the book is a short "Lesson in Mental Telepathy from a Chinese Matchmaker" and small sections on numerology and astrology. There are suggested occupations listed based on your "soul age" and your astrological sign. (One of my suggested occupations, as a Scorpio in her third incarnation, is Perfume Manufacturer.)

I think I saw this set in a more modern edition at Barnes and Noble about a year or so. It was still called Gong Hee Fot Choy. Has anyone else heard of this or used it? It's mostly amusing, but once in a while can be fairly accurate.

-- Kyrielle

If anyone's interested, you can buy the book in a new edition from Amazon. USGames sells a Gong Hee Fot Choy deck, but it's just an embellished playing card deck. As Kyrielle says, you can use any deck of playing cards.

-- Lee

I have this , and i have had it for so many years now .
I was given this when i was young to help me get started into divination as i was fascinated.
I have the 54th edition and i sometimes still use it, like you said
Kyrielle, it is quite amusing and a game as such, but i do have to agree it can be very accurate at times.
My edition says that this shouldn't be taken too lightly as a game but to be used wisely, and i have always taken this advice when using it.
I will have to get it out again now, and give myself a reading

Cheers
Kazz

This is one of my oldest books in my collection (It was given to me when I was 12). I always loved the artwork on the chart.

Of course, I used it so much when I was a kid that I still automatically remember the meaning when I see the cards- even when plying blackjack or poker. (Come on, Wish Card, Come ON!)

I've had this set for about 10 years now. The spreadsheet has seen it's better days but it is still a good system of divination. Many of my friends would have me read their cards for them and were suprised at the accuracy of it!