The Gypsy Woman
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Santiago
Quote 4
"It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. And since I am not wise, I have had to learn other arts, such as the reading of palms." (1.65)
So, apparently reading palms is easy, and the gypsy woman wasn't such a good student of other psychic powers and had to stick with the crystal ball approach. Her hint that the simplest things are also the most extraordinary shows us that even Santiago's straightforward dream is going to take a lot of doing before it comes true.