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Predicting the Future
The prophet |
An insect that sees into the future?
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When a mantid looks at you, it seems to look right through you. Extrapolating just a little, it's easy to imagine that this insect has powers of divination and can ÇseeÈ into the future. According to legend, the mantid can indicate where the wolf is hiding or predict the sex of an unborn child. The Greek word mantis means ÇprophetÈ.
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Predictions from tarantulas |
Many divinatory practices involve not only insects but also arachnids, their cousins. In Africa, and especially in Cameroon, shamans tell the future by reading small sticks moved by tarantulas.
These beliefs are based on the decisiveness with which the tarantulas move the sticks. These insects, whose very presence seems to defy time, are extremely self-confident, they never hesitate, they simply Çknow.È So why would they not know the future?
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The future has no secrets for a tarantula.
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