It's been an ancient Chinese tradition for centuries, performed in incense-choked temples and dark, mysterious alleys.
But now the art of fortune telling is reaching out to the masses on the move as mobile-phone companies beat a path to soothsayers' doors.
Their fortunes are being transmitted to Taiwan's 23 million mobile-phone users on a grand scale, with more than 250,000 texts transmitted every month.
Chung Ming-da, an 18-year-old college student from Taipei, is staring into the color screen of her designer mobile phone.
She is just one of the tens of thousands of fortune-telling addicts that has just received her weekly astrology update from Taiwan's largest telecom company, Chungwha Telecom Co (中華電信).
"I like to know what's in store for the week ahead while having a quick coffee," she said. "It saves me the headache of going to the temple every week and it's much cheaper."
Chunghwa Telecom now beams out 100,000 text messages a month covering tarot readings, astrology and its lucky-day service, which let you know if serendipity will strike.
For a fixed charge of NT$60 (US$1.80) a month and NT$12 (US$0.36) for each text, the nation's mobile-phone users can have their fortune told on the way to work, school or before a night out on the town.
That compares with NT$4,000 a pop for a visit to a top soothsayer, and even NT$300 for a consultation with a side-street crank.
Although the fortune-by-phone concept was introduced four years ago, it failed to expand beyond its niche status.
Then Chungwha started rolling out its personalized service earlier this year, which requires customers to hand over more detailed information such as the day and time of birth.
It was an instant hit among the younger generation, says Laura Pan, of Chungwha's mobile-services division.
"Customers want to know what their own fortune is, much like going to an expert at a temple, not rely on a generic response, which was what most companies provided," she said.
Now, rivals such as Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (
Far Eastern's I-style "515 Psychic Service," offers fortunes for romance, career and wealth, as well as dress recommendations for improving your luck, while Taiwan Cellular uses some of the nation's most famous astrology and tarot readers.
While Western culture regards fortune-telling, crystal-ball gazing and tea-leaves reading as the realm of cranks and conmen, Taiwan's naturally superstitious population has helped turn the entire fortune-telling industry into a money spinner.
A survey three years ago estimated the industry was worth NT$5 billion, but that could well have topped NT$8 billion with the advent of mobile-phone astrology, according to industry watchers.
Despite the rising popularity of mobile-phone astrology, the bustling stalls near Longshan Temple and the dark, subterranean bazaar known as Fortune-Telling Alley are still doing brisk business, mainly with housewives and executives in need of help or advice.
"Fortune-telling techniques can act as a sort of comfort blanket during times of stress," said professor Lee Li-chang (李力昌) of the Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences in southern Taiwan.
"It provides people with stability, giving them hope and something to believe in," he said.
A troubling trend, that may now be facilitated by fortune-telling going high tech, is that a growing number of people spurn professional psychiatrists in favor of occult solutions to their personal problems.
Statistics show that depression has been on the increase in Taiwan, with a survey by the John Tung Foundation revealing that 13 percent of the populace has serious problems with depression, but only 7 percent of those actually seek medical assistance.
And, tellingly, 65 percent opt to seek help from fortune-tellers or psychics.
"These people should be seeking professional medical help through counseling, family-therapy and finding time to relax and get enough sleep," said Hwu Hai-kwo (胡海國), head of the psychiatry department at National Taiwan University Hospital.
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