Divination is an attempt to communicate with the divine. The Spirits, the Gods and Goddesses, prefer to do this symbolically. Symbolism speaks to both your subconscious and your conscious mind. It will not, as the adds on TV suggest, tell you your fortune. It’s main purpose is to look at a problem from a different and hopefully objective point of view, and see alternate answers. There are many, many forms of Divination. Some of the post popular today are Astrology and Tarot Cards.
Here is a quote from the book, Mostly
Harmless, by Douglas Adams about Astrology in particular, but it also applies
to any form of Divination:
“I know that Astrology isn’t a science,” said Gail. Of course it isn’t. It’s just an arbitrary set of rules like, chess or tennis or-what’s that strange thing you British like to play?”
“Er, cricket? Self-loathing?” said Tricia.
“Parliamentary Democracy. The rules just kind of got there. They don’t make any kind of sense except in terms of themselves. But when you start to exercise those rules, all sorts of processes start to happen and you start to find out all sorts of stuff about people. In Astrology the rules happen to be about stars and planets, but they could just as well be about ducks and drakes for all the difference it would make. It’s just a way of thinking about a problem which lets the shape of that problem begin to emerge. The more rules, the tinier the rules, the more arbitrary the rule, the better. It’s like throwing a handful of fine graphite dust on a piece of paper to see where the hidden indentations are. It lets you see the words that were written on the piece of paper above it that’s now been taken away and hidden. The graphite’s not important. It’s just the means of revealing their indentations. So you see, Astrology’s nothing to do with Astronomy. It’s to do with people thinking about people…”
One way to stay objective about your own readings, is to write down what the Divine had to tell you one way or the other. Then look back to see what actually happened and how what was communicated related to your experiences.
When getting to know your system, try picking one card (tile, etc.) each day.
Divinatory systems usually consist
of “randomly” picked symbols, laid out in a certain pattern. The
pattern is called the Spread, and each position of the spread correlates
to a specific aspect of the Question involved. There are books full
of spreads, and any divination system you buy will give you one or two.
But don’t be afraid to change the
spread to suit your needs, or even make up ones of your own. As long
as the spaces are designated before you mix and deal the spread, you’re
fine.
You may require a big spread for a question that has many facets or there may be only three options to deal with.
It is good to work out a ritual to first create sacred space, call in your guiding spirits, and get yourself in the proper state of mind. (Click here for ideas) You may want to have a special cloth or scarf to lay your spread on. Candles and incense will definitely add to the tranquil mood. Try to keep interruptions out, unplug the phone, turn off the TV. But maybe turn on a soothing CD. Call on your guiding spirits to help you with the problem you are trying to address.
One of the most difficult part of Divination is asking the right question. I’ll give two examples:
Once a woman was looking for a new place to live and she asked, “Where will I find my new home?” The answer that came back was, “Where ever you are, you are home.” To get the answer she wanted help with, shed needed to ask, “Where will I find the best new dwelling place for me?”.
The other example came when a woman was about to go on a trip to visit relatives, some of who she didn’t get along with. So she asked, “How terrible will my trip be?” I have never seen so many negative answers at once. So instead she asked, “What can I do to make the trip as pleasant as possible?” She got really useful answers to that question.
When dealing with a card system where there is a specific order to the deck, putting them in order clears the energies from the previous question. Some choose to do that immediately after a reading, while others prefer to clear the deck immediately before a reading. For non-card systems, bathing them in incense smoke will do the same thing.
Steps:
1. Open
the ritual
2. Clear
the system of previous energies
3. Think
about your question (or have the client think about their question) while
you shuffle or mix
4. Cut
the cards (or have the client cut the cards), or let the tiles draw you
(or your client) to them.
5. Lay
them out and see what they tell you.
I highly suggest you keep a Divination journal. In my Divination Journal I put the Date, Time, My Name, The Deck, The Spread, and the Question at the top. If the Spread is one I’m designating for just this question, I draw a rough diagram of it. The rest is the space and the card meanings.
You can use Divination any time. I like to do them at critical parts of my life. For instance I do a 12 month spread on my birthday, and do a season spread for each seasonal change. These are usually general spreads that cover all aspects of my life. Just to get a little input from the Divine on how to best go about the next time span in question.
I suggest you let the Divination system choose you, as opposed to the other way around. Let it draw you to it. Close your eyes if necessary.
Most people have one or two systems they use exclusively. That way they get to know the system very well. Some people prefer to create their own system or modify existing ones. Other people, like me, collect them (link to Div sites). I have so many that I have made my own Divination system to choose which Divination system the spirits wish to communicate through.
Making your own system can be fun and rewarding. You will know exactly what the symbols mean. The simplest symbols are best. Although I suggest you explore and work with pre-made ones before embarking on that quest.
Good luck.
