The onset of a new calendar year in the minds of many is a special magical and fabulous time, endowed with a sacred meaning. Therefore, in the opinion of people, this holiday befits various types of fortune-telling. The Orthodox Church has its own attitude to such practices.
Despite the fact that one of the most "powerful" divinations is Christmas divination, the practice of finding out the future through mystical rituals for the New Year also takes place. Many different ways have been invented to tell fortunes, love, to find out whether wishes will come true in the coming year. The most common divination for the New Year is considered to be the traditional making of a wish under the chimes and immersing a burnt leaf with a request in a glass of champagne. Other types of New Year's fortune-telling include: pouring water from glasses, witchcraft using cards, fortune-telling by coins, manipulating candles, a mirror and a decanter of water, and many other practices.
The Orthodox Church condemns this kind of tradition as an occupation not befitting an Orthodox Christian. From the point of view of Orthodox culture and doctrine, any kind of fortune-telling belongs to witchcraft rituals, even if it is done for the sake of fun.
The Church does not see a special mystical time in the coming of the New Year, it is just a change in the calendar day. This is also due to the fact that in the literal sense of the word, the new year does not come until Jesus Christ is born. From the history of the Russian state it is known that the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ first came, and then the next year. In modern times, there is a holiday - the Old New Year, which is celebrated after the birth of the Messiah.
The Orthodox Church proclaims to people that the introduction to mysticism by means of fortune-telling opens the curtain into the world of dark forces. At this time, a person becomes more vulnerable to demonic influence. This is the reason for the prohibition of such a connection with demonic forces. At the same time, even comic practices can have a negative impact on the soul of a person who, according to the Orthodox doctrine, should strive not for demonic customs, but for righteousness and holiness, protecting and ennobling his soul with divine grace.
