“Women Consult an Astrologer"
Fol. 103v, from a manuscript of Akhlaq-i Nasiri
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In the first section of his Akhlaq, on ethics, Nasir al-Din Tusi discusses how to care for the soul, which requires as much attention as the body. One method, he writes, is to avoid putting one’s faith in sham science, such as fortune-telling or astrology. To illustrate this theme, this picture captures a moment of daily urban life as women line up in a crowded market to have their fortunes read. The tools of the diviner’s trade are displayed before him, including a brass instrument similar to an astrolabe and what appears to be a falnameh, or a type of book to be opened at random, which delivers a fortune or prescribed course of action.