When Uber invited us to its St. Andrew’s Day promotion “Uber Wróż!”, we discussed in the editorial office whether to accept the invitation at all. Ultimately, we decided that it was worth taking advantage of the opportunity to interview Maciej, a fortune teller. We got permission to record, so on Thursday afternoon, on St. Andrew’s Day, I went to the Palace of Culture, where the “fortune wagons” were leaving.
I would like to emphasize right away that I do not believe in fortune telling and both at work and in life I try to follow the guidelines of scientists (probably with better and worse results). However, much has been written about how big a business fortune telling is. A few years ago it was estimated, for example, that . So that’s the topic.
Despite my own skepticism, I understand the need of people who use such services, I have such people in my environment. To “Uber Fortune!” I went with an open mind and the desire to find out what it’s like to be a fortune teller. I planned to criticize fortune telling, but I didn’t want to discuss or prove my point. But from the beginning.
First meeting with the fortune teller Maciej
Uber prepared vintage cars from about 60 years ago for fortune telling. They resembled a Rolls-Royce, so I felt like an English gentleman going to a séance. Or if I took a taxi to Platform 9 ¾. When I got inside, I really felt a thrill of excitement. The famous fortune teller (wearing a winter hat and jacket, he wouldn’t stand out from the crowd, but he gave the impression of a warm and nice person), me and the stylized interior of the taxi. The white upholstered seats, gleaming wood trim, and curtains on the windows had me ready to hear my future.
Maciej, a fortune teller, took one of the cars and seemed to be in a good mood, smiling and cracking jokes. Back then, no one could have expected that everything would end the way it did.
I started by discussing the plan of the conversation, I said what topics I wanted to cover and in what order. As Poland woke up to a new reality after the October 15 elections, I was hoping that maybe he would answer a few questions about what awaits our country now. However, I learned from Maciej, the fortune teller, that he cannot comment on such topics – as he said – because of the contracts he has signed with the media in which he appears on a daily basis. He was firm, but the smile never left his face. When I said that I planned to ask, among others: about abortion, he laughed nervously. However, I understand that he has obligations, after all, that’s how this world is built. So I crossed some of the questions off my list, sorry, and we started driving.
We keep asking the same thing
The first few minutes are a nice conversation about the work of fortune tellers and Maciej himself. Although, in my opinion, nothing controversial was said in this conversation, my interlocutor wanted to start over and did not agree to the publication of the already recorded video. Thus, I lost material that could illustrate this text. But maybe words are enough.
On the second attempt, we started with the same thing. Undaunted, Fortune Teller Maciej enthusiastically said that he learned something every day, and when he said this, his eyes wandered, as if he was looking for a good answer or selecting words. With a sincere smile, he told me that he was now engrossed in astrology. When I asked if there were any new interpretations or if there were any schools of tarot reading, he became visibly gloomy. He took a breath and, drawing out the first words – as if no one had asked him about it before and he was revealing a secret to me – he explained that he had learned to work with cards, he knew their language, but every tarot reader had to learn it himself.
I learned that for fortune telling, we don’t have to have perfect conditions and a car is enough. Inside, there was a table and an industrial lamp which, with its light diffused light, maintained the semi-darkness in the interior, which, together with a deck of tarot cards with their disturbing illustrations, introduced a dreamlike, yet intimate atmosphere. When he said that he agreed to take part in the Uber promotion because he is a shooter and likes adventures and new things, the voice of Fortune Teller Maciej rose slightly but noticeably – it sounded like genuine excitement.
He was also pleased to tell me that many people who used “Uber Fortune Teller!” on St. Andrew’s Day had never visited a fortune teller before. On this occasion, he met with different clients than on a daily basis. I learned that in the last 20 years he has been practicing his profession, nothing has changed in terms of the questions people ask. Because – as he said – “each of us wants love, each of us wants to be loved, each of us wants to have professional satisfaction, each of us would like to earn well and each of us would like to be healthy.”
Must you believe?
I asked him about the hate. He said he was too old for this and nothing “moved” him, and the expression on his face didn’t suggest otherwise. He added that if he cared about it, he wouldn’t come out (Wróżbita Maciej revealed that he was gay in 2021). When we deal with hate, we lose the opportunity to focus on ourselves, he finally concluded.
So I asked if he faced substantive criticism, did people come and say that what he was doing was unscientific? He said no. What if he talked to someone like that? What would he tell him? – I continued. The fortune-teller Maciej began to lose his composure, he nervously muttered: “If I had breasts… What if? If grandma had a mustache…”. . Although at first the Fortune Teller did not want to comment on it, finally, laughing, he elaborated: – To me, this is idiotism. That’s what someone thinks, right? The fact that you think that this pork chop is tasteless, in my opinion it is tasty – he said. But when he remembered that I had mentioned science, his face turned stern.
And beyond that, what has a scientific dimension? For over two thousand years we were in the era of fish, now we have changed the era of Aquarius… and being in a Catholic country, where Poland believes in God, God is intangible, do you dare to talk about science? I’m sending you to church and asking for prayers
– I heard. The atmosphere was visibly thickening. Here it would be worth recalling that the Catholic Church considers fortune telling to be a sin. I just said I understood, even though I disagreed. And then the roles were reversed and I was asked: why do I not agree? When I wanted to clarify what my interlocutor meant and tried to ask whether he meant the scientific dimension, like a bolt from the blue I received a request to delete the interview and then stop the recording.
This could actually be the end, but it wasn’t. We could have had some more discussion, but instead my host continued the monologue, leaving me almost speechless about my views or belief in fortune telling. What I found out is that Wróż Maciej does not agree to “black PR”.
Since we still had a few minutes of the journey left, I asked him about the fortune, hoping that I would be able to record at least a few minutes of our meeting that I could publish. I asked him to give me a tarot reading about my career, but I was refused and… invited to a private session. I decided I wouldn’t use it because I didn’t believe in it. My chances of getting a fortune were reduced to zero.
The fortune teller Maciej was surprised and outraged, although I tried to explain that I probably had a desire for magic to exist (fantasy books have always been my favorites) and I would be willing to try, even if I was unconvinced. The fortune-teller, Maciej, tried to ask me “what is magic?” He also tried to explain that if I was unconvinced, fortune telling would be “masochistic” and “would cause pain” to me. Well, I don’t know… What I do know is that Maciej, the fortune teller, said that time passed until it was completely gone. And I was left with no fortune telling, no answers and no recordings. Was it because I was skeptical?
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
