St. Andrew’s Eve fortune-telling and stones — tradition, classics, and an idea for the evening

Andrzejki take place on the night of November 29–30, and classic fortune-telling traditions—pouring wax, arranging shoes, and cups with hidden objects—are now social entertainment and a piece of folklore, not predictions of the future. Stones have no documented place in this tradition: drawing them is a contemporary idea for the evening, built on associations that culture has attributed to colors and minerals for centuries.

This observation takes nothing away from Andrzejki. The evening of fortune-telling does exactly what it should: it gives people an excuse to gather in the middle of November, turn off the overhead lights, and spend an hour laughing at the shapes of wax on the wall.

When are Andrzejki and where did the tradition come from?

The Andrzejki evening is the eve of Saint Andrew’s Day, the night of November 29–30. The date is not accidental: Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30, so Andrzejki fall exactly on its threshold—they were often the last opportunity for loud festivities before several weeks of quiet reflection. That is where the exuberance that has survived in Polish homes and schools to this day comes from.

In the past, however, fortune-telling looked different than it does now. It was intended for unmarried women and revolved largely around one question: marriage. It was also taken more seriously, being closer to a ritual than a competition held to loud music. Young unmarried men had their own date: Katarzynki, on the eve of Saint Catherine’s Day, a few days earlier. This division gradually faded, and today Andrzejki are enjoyed by everyone at once.

No one has settled exactly when the custom came to Poland or where it came from. A fragment of a sixteenth-century work by Marcin Bielski is considered the oldest Polish mention, describing girls telling fortunes on the eve of Saint Andrew’s Day. Anything older is already a hypothesis: the custom is sometimes traced to ancient or Germanic rituals. We would rather say this plainly than invent a lineage for the tradition that it does not have.

Classic Andrzejki fortune-telling: wax, shoes, and cups

Three fortune-telling traditions appear in every description of Andrzejki, and they are the best place to start. None requires buying anything—you have everything you need at home.

Pouring wax through a keyhole

Melt a candle, then pour the liquid wax into a bowl of cold water through the hole of an old key. Remove the hardened shape, hold it up to a lamp, and look not at the wax itself but at its shadow on the wall—that is when everyone suddenly sees a profile, a sail, a dog, or a wedding ring in the shadow. Hot wax can burn, so an adult should do the pouring when children are present. Don’t have a key with a hole? You can pour the wax through a metal strainer or directly into the water—the shape will be different, but the fun will be the same.

Arranging shoes

Everyone takes off one shoe, and all the shoes are placed one after another, starting at the farthest wall and moving toward the door. The shoe at the end of the row is moved to the front, and this continues until one crosses the threshold. Traditionally, unmarried women arranged the row, and the owner of the winning shoe was supposed to be the first to walk down the aisle; today, everyone’s shoes are included, and winning commits you to nothing.

Cups with hidden objects

Turn several cups upside down and hide a small object beneath each one. The historical set was easy to interpret: a wedding ring foretold an imminent marriage, a leaf or twig meant remaining unmarried, a coin meant money, and a rosary meant religious life. Today, anything suited to the group can go under the cups: a ticket, an apartment key, earphones, or a stone. The person drawing does not peek but points to a cup, and the rest of the table interprets the result.

Apart from this historical set, no meanings are fixed—and that is the whole fun, because you make them up yourselves on the spot.

Stones at an Andrzejki evening—a contemporary variation on the game

Here, an honest disclaimer is needed. We do not know of any ethnographic sources describing Andrzejki fortune-telling with stones. Wax, shoes, and cups have long been present in descriptions of the custom; drawing minerals has not. It is a contemporary idea, inspired by the fact that stones have been assigned fixed associations for centuries, making them easy to turn into objects for drawing. If you hear about a “Proto-Slavic stone ritual on Saint Andrew’s night,” treat it as part of a story, not history—we have written separately about where the belief in the power of minerals came from.

The game itself is delightful: it works like the cups, but leaves you with a keepsake. The process is simple:

1. Prepare 5–8 clearly different stones, ideally one per person plus a few extras.
2. Put them in a linen bag or in a bowl covered with a cloth so no one can peek.
3. Before you begin, agree on the messages—one short sentence for each stone, written on slips of paper.
4. Everyone draws blindly, reads their message aloud, and keeps the stone as a souvenir of the evening.

You can choose any messages you like—this is a convention of the game, not a property of the mineral. We find these work well: amethyst means calm and a cool head, rose quartz—matters of the heart, aventurine—a new beginning, tiger’s eye—the courage to make a decision you have been postponing, agate—patience, and citrine—ideas and conversations. If you would like to choose the stones more thoughtfully, we have gathered some ideas in our text about which stone tradition associates with good luck.

Stones for drawing do not have to be expensive—small tumbled stones are enough. It is worth knowing what you are buying, though: in inexpensive sets, opalite, an iridescent glass, is sometimes included alongside natural minerals. It looks impressive, and we offer it too, but it is glass, not a stone from the earth, and we say so plainly.

An idea for an Andrzejki gift

Andrzejki are not a gift-giving holiday, and no one waits for a package on this evening—which is why a small gift works particularly well. Three options are especially suitable: a small token for every guest, one nicer present for the person who organized the evening, and a stone drawn during the game, given at the end together with a note bearing its message.

We have collected broader ideas for a gift made from natural stones in a separate guide, divided by occasion and budget. And if you would rather see everything in person, our Warsaw boutique is located at Grzybowska 61, unit 5, in Platinum Towers (00-844).

Frequently asked questions about Andrzejki

An Andrzejki evening needs no embellishment to hold its own: all you need is a November date, a few people, and an excuse to laugh together. Wax, shoes, and cups are the documented parts of this tradition; stones are a pleasant contemporary addition that remains in your pocket long after the candles have burned down completely.