Ribbons for divination

 How to use ribbons for fortune telling 

There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to ribbon readings. Which you learn is entirely up to you or why not try both!

All you need is different colours of ribbon.

Celtic origins

Ribbon readings are thought to have started by the travellers or gypsies following the Celtic tradition, who would sell their pretty ribbons to ladies wishing to adorn their hair. The ladies would also request a reading at the same time and so the tradition caught on.

There are some traditional spreads just for ribbon reading but it is probably a good idea to devise your own as it will be easier to remember your own placements.

A good start would be a 3 ribbon past, present and future.

Another reasonably simple reading would be with 7 ribbons with placements being

1. Basic personality
2. Positive parts of personality
3. Undesirable parts of personality
4. What is working in my favour?
5. What is working against me?
6. The way forward
7. Outcome (Up to 3 months)

A more advanced method uses 6 colours with detailed meanings about the placements as 1st place, 2nd place etc in a reading. This is quite involved and a lot to learn off by heart!

Ribbon colour meanings 

White: spirituality, peace and snow Red: health, energy, strength, courage, sexual potency, heat, and fire Pink: love, affection and romance Yellow: intellectual, imagination, creativity, memory and the sun Green: fertility, abundance, good luck, harmony, and money Blue: inspiration, occult wisdom, protection, devotion and rain Purple: material wealth, higher psychic ability, spiritual power and idealism Silver: clairvoyance, inspiration, astral energy and intuition Orange: ambition, career matters, and the law Gold: money, wealth, sun, happiness and contentment

Another tradition  is “lentochki,” or “pulling the ribbon”). It’s low-key, zero spooky vibes, and honestly feels more like a party game than actual witchcraft. Perfect for sleepovers, bachelorette parties, or when you’re tipsy at a Slavic Christmas gathering.

So How Does It Actually Work?

Picture this: someone (usually a giggling grandma or your chaotic best friend) ties a bunch of colorful ribbons to a sieve, a branch, a sieve on a branch (commitment to chaos), or even just holds them in a bundle. Each ribbon has a little charm, trinket, or slip of paper attached to the end with a pre-written fortune or symbol.

Common symbols you’ll see:

•  A tiny house → you’ll buy property or settle down

•  A heart → love is coming (duh)

•  A ring → marriage (or at least someone’s proposing)

•  A key → new opportunities, solving problems

•  A coin → money, baby

•  A little skull or black bead → uh… “obstacles,” let’s call them that

•  A pacifier → babies on the horizon

•  A plane → travel or moving far away

Everyone stands in a circle, usually blindfolded (or at least with eyes closed for drama), spins around three times (because three is magic, obviously), and then grabs a ribbon. Whatever’s tied to the end is your “prediction” for the next year or until the next time you do this drunk.

Where Did This Even Come From?

It’s mostly a thing in Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland) and pops up around Christmas, New Year’s, or Epiphany, the prime season for fortune-telling when the veil between worlds is supposedly thin and everyone’s bored in the winter. It’s related to a whole bunch of old-school Slavic divination games (throwing boots, listening to dogs bark, melting wax), but the ribbon one is the cute, portable version.

There’s also a similar tradition at weddings: the bride holds a bunch of ribbons, guests pull one, and whoever gets the one with the ring attached is supposedly “next to marry.” Pure chaos and screaming guaranteed.

Where Do All Those Ribbon Symbols Actually Come From

A Quick Dive into the Origins

Ribbon fortune-telling (called gadánie na lentochkakh in Russian or wstążki wróżby in Polish) is part of a huge family of Slavic and Eastern-European folk divinations that exploded in popularity in the 18th–19th centuries, especially among young unmarried women during the winter “holy evenings” (Svyatki / Koliada period from Christmas to Epiphany). The symbols didn’t appear out of nowhere — almost every single one has deep roots in pre-Christian Slavic folklore, later mixed with Christian elements and everyday peasant life. Here’s the backstory on the most common ones:

1Ring → Marriage
The absolute classic. In old Slavic tradition, a ring is a symbol of binding and eternity (the circle has no end). Giving or receiving a ring in rituals meant you were “tied” to someone forever. By the 1800s it became the universal “you’ll get married soon” symbol.

Heart → Love (not always marriage)
Borrowed from Western European valentines in the 19th century, but quickly adopted because the heart already symbolized life force and emotion in folk embroidery and wood carvings.

Key → New opportunities, solving problems, moving house
Keys have been magical objects for millennia. In Slavic folklore, keys open not just doors, but the boundary between worlds (life/death, winter/spring, etc.). Pulling a key meant “a door will open for you” — new home, new job, new fate.

Coin / Money → Wealth
Straightforward peasant logic: money = good harvest, no debt, ability to marry off daughters. Coins were also used as protective amulets against poverty spirits.

House → Buying property or family stability
In village culture, owning your own izba (wooden house) was the ultimate life goal. A tiny house charm meant you’d finally stop renting or living with in-laws.

Bread / Pretzel / Kalach → Abundance, good harvest
Bread is literally sacred in Slavic culture (“bread is the head of everything”). If you pull bread, the next year will feed you well.

Pacifier or Baby Bootie → Children
Fertility symbol, obviously. In the 19th century people started using actual baby items or sugar pacifiers. Before that they sometimes used grains or beans (seeds = babies).

Plane, Ship, Car (modern additions) → Travel or moving far away
These are 20th–21st century updates. In the old days they used a feather (you’ll “fly” somewhere) or a little boat (long journey).

Mirror → You’ll see your future husband
Classic girls’ divination: on certain nights you were supposed to look into a mirror to see your betrothed. So a tiny mirror on a ribbon = same idea, condensed.

Book → Studies, wisdom, or “you’ll marry a smart guy”
Became popular in the Soviet era when education was a huge deal.

Garlic or Chili Pepper → Protection from evil
Traditional warding objects. Pulling garlic means you’ll be safe from envy and bad luck.

Black bead, Skull, or Cross → Trouble, illness, mourning
The scary one. In pre-Christian times it might have represented a visit from ancestors or a necessary sacrifice. Later it just became “hard year ahead” (death of old habits, breakup, etc.). People soften it now by saying “death of something bad.”

Spider or Insect (troll version)
Not traditional at all — modern prank addition. Spiders were actually seen as good luck (they eat flies, bring money into the house), but nobody wants to pull a plastic cockroach.

Rainbow ribbon or multicolored one → Wish comes true
Rainbows in Slavic lore connect earth and sky and were considered lucky bridges.