Divination is the art of looking into the past, the future or beyond yourself in the present. It is the art of using an object to answer questions and find hidden meanings. Divination has been practiced for thousands of years in many different forms. Some people would read entrails, others the starts, some smoke, others the ripples of water. There are as many types of divination as there have been cultures in the world.

Some common forms of divination include reading cards, runes, crystal balls, scrying, reading fire, palmesty, tea leaf reading, and the list goes on. Over the years, divinations techniques have evolved from simplistic forms to intricate methods. Divination was originally used to try to predict weather patterns in ancients times, then later to predict individual's futures. Divination is a hard art to master and often is unreliable. For the most part, Divination is used to guide you into a certain direction. It gives you possible futures, not certainty. Every action you take has an effect on the future, just as it has an affect on the present.

Some people have been credited with 'special' divining gifts. Being able to glimpse into the future, the past and even people's souls. For the most part, this is mearly people using the tools they have at hand or they are attuned to other planar things. Some people can see auras and other energy signatures and with time, they can use this ability to read the 'signs' to see what will happen. It is much like reading people's body language or understanding their tone of voice. With practice anyone can learn to be a diviner, peering into your own subconscious for the answers. A trained diviner mearly recognizes patterns in energy, colors, activities or places.

Divination does indeed contact the subconscious. It allows you to look beyond your ego and answer questions that you otherwise would not be able to. Many people have gifts which, while related to divination are not part of the art. People who have these gifts can be called several things dependant on what sort of gift they possess. These people include:

1. Empath-feeling the emotions of other people, places, animal, spirit etc.
2. Clairvoyant-'second sight' The ability to see things within the spiritual realm or beyond.
3. Clairaudient-The ability to hear things in the spirit realm or beyond.
4. Clairgustant-The ability to percieve the essence of something by putting it in your mouth.
5. Clairscent-The ability to smell things in the spirit realm or beyond.
6. Clairsentient-The ability to feel with the whole body the spirit realm or anything beyond
7. Clairtangent-The ability to know about the spirit realm or beyond by touching an item, place or person.
8. Channeler-A person who allows his/her body to be used by a spirit to get information, healing, energy etc.

Some diviners use both their gifts and the tools for answering their questions. Anyone can develope these gifts, though it may take many years to do so. Intuition is one of the most important keys to divining. You must rely on your initial feelings and thoughts. Go with them, using the tools you choose to use to guide you.

Understanding the tools of divination is the first step to understanding the art of divining. The most common of these tools aer runes, tarot, scrying, ouija, and channeling. Each of these arts is quite differnt and can take years to master, but even a novice can pick them up and use them.