Meet the 'Cheese Witch': Fortune Teller Who Claims to Predict the Future Using Cheese
A Chicago-based fortune teller known as the "Cheese Witch" reads people's futures by analyzing the patterns and textures of cheese, reviving an ancient divination practice called Tyromancy that dates back to medieval times.
Chicago-based Jane Billok, who calls herself the 'Cheese Witch,' is gaining attention for her unconventional fortune-telling method. Instead of tarot cards, tea leaves, or palm lines, she uses cheese as a tool to read the future. Billok's connection to cheese began in childhood after visiting a cheese aging room with her parents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her travel writing work halted, prompting her to search online for unusual food-based divination methods. She discovered 'Tyromancy'—the practice of divination through cheese—which became a small obsession. With her existing tarot reading background, she adapted tarot interpretation principles to analyze patterns, textures, and cracks on cheese. Tyromancy dates back to the 2nd century and was popular in medieval England, used to determine criminals' guilt and predict seasonal agricultural yields. The practice resembles coffee or tea leaf reading, where the diviner interprets stories from shapes, patterns, and surfaces on food. Billok focuses solely on the cheese until messages 'pop into her head' as if a voice tells her what to say. She offers both in-person and online readings, typically using four cheese pieces per session—three representing past, present, and future, with the fourth addressing specific questions. Different cheeses provide different 'messages': blue cheese tends to be detailed and interpretable in multiple ways, while cheddar or pre-sliced cheese yields more direct and clear messages. Billok emphasizes that cheese price doesn't affect accuracy; both inexpensive and premium aged cave-aged cheese work equally as 'spiritual mediums.' Beyond cheese, she also reads tarot, oracle cards, runes, and other foods and beverages.
