Divinations

A Sicilian fortuneteller is released from prison after serving a long sentence and tries to pick up his life again. He advises people about their love life by giving tarot readings. He also promises them irradiated bracelets, although his supplier, a mysterious artisan who melts metal and stone, doesn’t deliver the goods. In addition, the fortuneteller’s health is rapidly deteriorating.

A prologue with quotes from the philosopher and seer Empedocles, who lived in the Greek colony of Akragas (now Agrigento) in Sicily in the 5th century B.C., precedes the story in two chapters about this remarkable magus. His customers are desperately looking for certainties and answers. They want to believe in something higher than the seeming arbitrariness of their lives.

The lofty, otherworldly theme of Divinations contrasts with earthly elements such as stone, metal, and the lava of Etna. This mysterious portrait raises intriguing questions and fascinates with its calm and arresting images, and associative narrative structure.