The well-known Bosnian divination cards called faletarke — from the word falati, meaning “to tell fortune” — represent a unique blend of mystical inspiration and everyday life. With a little effort, you will find within them many answers to your questions.
In the Bosnian tradition of divination, several mantic skills have long held an important place, such as reading coffee grounds, divining with beans, “opening the star,” and fortune-telling with cards known as faletarke.
While “opening the star” (yildizname) was usually practiced by sheikhs and hodjas, since it is based on an Arabic astrological method, all other practices were performed by gifted individuals.
Over the centuries, some of them became famous for their skill in predicting the future and were highly respected and popular among the people. However, due to communism, it was not permitted to write publicly about them or give them attention in the media.
Today, fortunately, the situation is completely different, but most of those former prophets and masters of fate have passed away.
Through years of ethnological research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as fieldwork, I had the opportunity to meet many people who shared their thoughts on divination, clairvoyance, and personal experiences.
I was truly lucky to meet the late Mrs. Zumreta K., who showed me her aunt’s old cards. Her aunt was a well-known fortune-teller in her town, and Mrs. Zumreta loved to tell stories about people who came to have their cards “opened” and their destiny revealed.
What amazed me most was that, for the first time, I was able to see the very cards I had heard so much about in my childhood — the faletarke.
Although most of the cards were in poor condition, I managed to reconstruct them and restore their illustrations. Thanks to dear Mrs. Zumreta, I also obtained the interpretations for each card.
A few cards were missing from the deck, either lost or destroyed, but she remembered their names, making it possible to recreate them visually.
What you see before you today is a modernized version of those same cards, redesigned for the present era.
As you will notice, there are 46 cards in total, each with its own individual and combined meaning.
They seem simple at first glance, but the more you work with them, the more you will discover their magic, depth, and truthfulness.
So don’t be afraid — open the window of destiny with the faletarke and take a look inside.
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