By Tim Binnall
A Pennsylvania politician has reportedly proposed repealing a ban on fortune telling that has been on the books in the state for well over a century. The rather archaic law was enacted in the 1860 and prohibits charging money for predicting the future via "cards, tokens, the inspection of the head or hands of any person, or by the age of anyone, or by consulting the movements of the heavenly bodies." Beyond astrology, palmistry, tarot, and other forms of soothsaying, the regulation also bans the sale of "love powders or potions" and charms that promise to improve one's luck. The unusual prohibition, which is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit filed against the state by a metaphysical shop owner, has been applied in at least two headline-making instances in 2018 and 2023.
However, the future may be bright for soothsayers in Pennsylvania, as state legislator Greg Scott recently announced plans to introduce legislation that would update the longstanding ban. Explaining that his effort was brought about by calls from concerned constituents, the politician lamented that "the livelihood of individuals engaged in fortune telling, including tarot card reading, is put at risk" by the prohibition. Should Scott's efforts be successful, Pennsylvania would become the latest location to strike down decades-old laws against soothsaying after similar repeals occurred in West Virginia, Virginia, and Michigan cities over the last few years.