Parrot astrology or parakeet fortune-telling is a type of

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

traditionally practiced in the Indian states of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and by

Indian Singaporeans Indian Singaporeans are Singaporeans of Indian people, Indian or of general South Asian diaspora, South Asian ancestor, ancestry. They constitute approximately 9.0% of the country's residents, making them the third largest ancestry and ethnic ...

. It involves using mainly rose-ringed and

Alexandrine parakeet The Alexandrine parakeet (''Psittacula eupatria''), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus ''Psittacula'' of the family Psittaculidae, native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is named after Alexander the G ...

s which are trained to pick up

Tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

-like fortune cards.

Fortune telling process

A parrot astrologer/fortune teller typically sits beneath a tree to call or by the side of the road where people congregate. He has a cage which contains one or two trained parrots. The tarot like cards are either spread out or stacked in front of him. They are 27 in number representing the Indian cosmic system. Each card contains the image of a Hindu deity and some cards contain images of Buddha or Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus. When a patron sits before the fortune teller, the latter opens the cage and lets the parrot out. He instructs the parrot to pick a card for the patron. The parrot walks over to the cards, picks one from the stack or the spread with its beak and gives it to the astrologer. It then walks back inside its cage. The astrologer opens the card and based on the image tells the fortune of the patron. The practice of parrot astrology is diminishing in Tamil Nadu due to lack of patronage. In Singapore it is a tourist attraction in

Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...

along the

Serangoon Road ''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean drama television series that premiered on 22 September 2013 on ABC and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in Singapore in the mid-1960s. The series takes its name from the eponymous roa ...

. A variant is also practiced in Pakistan.

Gallery

File:Parrot horoscope.jpg, A parrot astrologer sitting beneath a tree File:Astrology,parrot,rural,,nainar palayam,Tamil Nadu429.JPG, A patron seeks her fortune File:A -parrot zodiac.jpg, Parrot going through the cards File:Singapore fortune teller.jpg,

Mani the parakeet Mani the parakeet (hatched 1997), also called Mani the parrot, is a Malaysian-born rose-ringed parakeet who resides in Singapore. He has been an astrologer "assistant" to M. Muniyappan since 2005, working from his Little India fortune-telling ...

References

{{Divination Tamil culture Aviculture Hindu astrology Oracular animals Indian astrologers Culture of Tamil Nadu Culture of Andhra Pradesh Parrots of Asia Birds of South India Birds in religion

Fortune telling process

Gallery

See also

References