This seems like a fairly good time of year to be talking
about divination. What is it, why do we do it, and what's in it
for us? Lots of people think it's a way of avoiding
responsibility - if the future is preordained, we might as well
go back to bed.
Of course, that's not it at all. Divination is the use of any one of several methods to obtain information which is not directly accessible to the conscious mind of the person asking the question. Whether you use cards, crystals, a pendulum, ink, lead, dice, the flight of birds or anything else, what you are really doing is opening your end of a channel to higher wisdom. I consider the "actual" source of that wisdom irrelevant and immaterial; it could be one's own subconscious, the collective unconscious, the Gods' will, telepathic insight, or a big computer buried in the Balkans. It's still additional information which is not as tainted by ego and intellect's limitations as most.
So what do we do with it? The same things we do with any other information; add it to what we already know and develop a synthesis that can help us do our decision-making. The easiest way to analyze the process is with a concrete (well, maybe jello) example:
A young man has been between relationships for some time. He wants very much to link up with the great love of his life, but is not aware of anyone on the horizon. He is putting himself in a position to meet new people, presenting himself as attractively as he can, and generally taking care of business, but no results. He has to decide whether to take a work-related course at night or not. It will take a lot of time and there are not likely to be any women attending. His progressed horoscope is neutral. He gets his cards read. They say:
[PAUSE]
1.Nothing at all about love, but a lot about skilled craftsman- ship and satisfaction through work. He decides to relax and wait for a better time, takes the course, and is rewarded with a modest promotion which enhances his satisfaction with his job.
2.A lot about increasing social activities, leading to the start of a new romance, leading to great happiness and satisfaction after some difficulties are resolved. He does not take the course, and meets a really nice interesting lady at a party given by a friend (which he couldn't have attended had he taken the course).
3.That he is overlooking sources of emotional gratification in his current situation. Given the information, he starts looking around and discovers that one of his quieter friends is a really thoughtful and insightful person who helps him learn to know himself better, and that a young cousin needs a mentor and this relationship gives him a lot of pleasure and fulfillment. He begins to feel much more ready for a good relationship, and much less impatient to have one start.
These examples illustrate the point made above; divination provides you with choices, and you take the consequences, no matter what the oracles say. Treat them with respect, not adoration or blind compliance, and may they always show you the truth.
A Multi-Candle Divination
Set up as many identical candles in holders as you have choices facing you. If you wish an answer to a simple question, two candles: one for yes, one for no. In an area free of breezes name each candle for one of your choices individually and light them.
The first to burn down and sputter out is your best bet.
Set up three candles, all of the same color and in identical holders, if possible, in a windless space. Arrange them into a triangle and light them. If one burns more brightly than theh others, you'll have a period of unexpected good luck. A quenched flame signifies a period of negativity. If the flames move in circles, someone may be working against you. Sparks shooting out are also negative signs. {I see these as 'changes' too, not necessarily negative, so use your intuition} If all the candles burn steadily, undisturbed and peacefully, your life will be the same.
Light a candle. Keep it lit for several hours, with no drafts nearby. Ask a yes or no question. Now sit quietly and watch the candle.
If the right side burns faster than the left, the answer is yes. If the reverse, the answer is no.
When burning a candle to determine future influences, the right signifies good forture. However, if the left side burns more quickly than the right, prospects are ill.
You can also light a candle, focus on your question and drip the melted wax into a dish or pan of water, then interpret the symbols/shapes the wax makes as it hardens. I believe this is also from .
For this you will need a number of long tapers (8 inches or longer) of the 4 basic elements, green, yellow, red and blue. One of these is necessary for every reading. You will also need a large round or square vessel filled with cold water. This can be of any material, but pottery or glass are best, for they can withstand heat. Plastic is not recommended.
Put the candles, a book or matches or lighter and the vessel of water on a table or other flat surface.
(I touched on this next part in the last one) If you have a particular question you want answered, use the appropirate candle color. If the question does not seem to be related to any of above the elements colors, use white. If you have no question but are simply desiring a glimpse into your future, use yellow, for this is the color of divination in general.
Light the candle and hold it upright over the water for a moment, thinking about your question or simply calming your mind.
When the candle is fully flaming and has begun melting the wax, tilt it and hold steadily about an inch over the water's surface. The wax will begin dripping onto the water.
If the tiny drips (which harden into small droplets of wax, smooth on the top but round on the bottom) do not merge and create a pattern, you aren't concentrating on the question. Sweep all else from your mind. The wax drops will form a pattern on the surface of the water. If you are having trouble achieving this, begin moving the candle slowly, allowing the drops to touch one another and so to form a line on the water. If this is done for a few minutes a definate shape will appear on the water. When this happens quench the candles flame with your fingers or a candlesnuffer and set aside. Look at the shape. What does it look like? Pick it up carefully so as not to break it and turn it over. Does it look the same or different? Study its thickness to see if it says anything to you symbolically.
Here are some shapes and patterns commonly found in the drip method and their traditional meanings. As you can see, this form of divination is rather limited.
The most common, because of the way the wax rotates on the surface of the water, spirals represent reincarnation, the universe, the world or perhaps a particular life. It could mean you need to evolve beyond it, or that it is something from a previous life. Perhaps, depending on the nature of the question, the problem or its solution is in the home. This is an excellent example of how interpretation must be a personal thing, no one else can tell you exactly how these symbols relate to you. Usually the first meaning that comes into your mind is the correct one.
Circles represent eternity and fertility, and both of these attributes can be interpreted according to the question asked. Fertility would perhaps represent a new activity, financial security, or even a new baby on the way. It may also signify the successful completion of a project. Eternity may mean just that - it will be a long time before something is completed or comes to pass. Circles also represent religion and spirituality, and thus can bee seen in this context during interpretation.
If the wax drops form into lines but they aren't connected, it represents a scattering of forces, or lack of focus in your life, business or other pursuits. It can also signify forces working against you. but don't take this too literally - such 'forces' may well be within your own being. This isn't a postive patternn to find, for it is a sign that changes must be made to bring order into your life.
Dots, unconnected wax drops, sometimes are the only thing you can get. As stated above, this sometimes signifies lack of attention to the divination, but it can also mean that the problem us too complex for an answer at this time. If you try wax divination several times with only dots coming up each time, you're either asking the wrong questions, or if you haven't asked one, you shouldn't be seeking a glimpse into your future at this time- at least not through wax and water. it's probably best to let the candles and water rest, and to attempt a different method - perhaps one mentioned elsewhere in the book.
This ancient technique can produce surprising results. Sit before a roaring
fire. Ask your question. Gaze into the flames while the fire burns down. Within
the flames, or in the sparkling, glowing coals below them, images of the future
may appear. Interpret them with symbolic thought. It's best to limit gazing time
to about five minutes, but there's no need to check your watch. Allow the images
to come to you for an appropriate time.
Write a question concerning the future on a small piece of paper. Place it face down on a flat, heat-proof surface. Light one corner of the paper with a match. If the entire paper burns, the answer is yes. If only part of the paper is
destroyed, the answer is no.
To perform any of the following rites, choose a room not usually subject to winds or drafts. Night is the preferred time, and it's best to lower the lights. Use whits candles except where otherwise indicated.
Light a candle and place it in its holder. Sit or stand before it and search for signs from the flame itself and its wick. If the flame seems dim, it may be best to hold off on plans for the time being. An extremely bright flame is a sign of good fortune, but if it quickly grows smaller, the luck will be temporary.
If the flame waves about, bad weather may be coming, or a great change in circumstances is foretold. A spark visible in the wick indicates the imminent arrival of good news. If the flame turns in a circle or seems to form a spiral, danger is forecast. Finally, a halo around the flame indicates an approaching storm.
Another method of reading candles involves watching the manner in which the molten wax drips down the candle sides. Place the candle in a holder. Ask a yes or no question while lighting the wick. Watch it for some time. If the wax drips only on the left side, the answer is no. If on the right, yes. If equally on both sides, no response is possible. If no wax drips down, ask again later.
A rather unusual form of candle divination involves the remarkable properties of fresh lemon juice. Obtain a clean, non-ball point or felt-tip pen. (The type used for calligraphy). Since neither an ink-filled pen nor a pencil can be used, a sharpened, short stick may be substituted.
Squeeze the juice from a lemon into a small bowl. Lay three, five or seven pieces of paper on a flat surface. Dipping the pen into the lemon juice, (write) a possible future on each piece of paper with the juice; the juice here acts as the ink. Since lemon juice is invisble and difficult to write with, reduce these futures to just a few words. Allow them to dry.
Light a candle. Place the slips of paper into a bowl. Mix them with your left hand, then choose one at random. Hold the chosen piece of paper close enough to the flame to heat it but not enough to burn it. The heat will reveal the future written on the paper as the lemon juice darkens. This will determine the possible future.
One method is known as "smoke reading." Light a candle. Pass a plain white card through the flames three times while asking a question. (do this quickly to avoid setting the card on fire.) Interpret the resulting carbon deposits left on the underside of the card with symbolic thought.
There are many older techniques. For example, build a fire outside in a safe place while asking a yes/no question. Watch the smoke. If it rises straight and lightly into the air, a positive answer has been received. If, however, it hangs heavily around the fire, the reverse is true.
Collect ashes from dead fires or the fire place. Outside, in a place where the wind usually blows at some time, scatter the ashes to a good depth in a rectagular shape on the ground. While asking your question regarding the future, use a finger to write the word yes in the ashes to the right and no to the left. Leave them undisturbed overnight.
In the morning, study the ashes. If both words are clearly legible, no answer is possible at this time. If one has been erased by animal tracks, the wind or by some other force, the remaining word reveals the answer to your question. If both words are gone, again, no answer has been given.
Fill five flower pots with the same kind of dirt. Plant in each pot a seed of the same type of flower, on the same day and at the same time. Ensure that they have the same exposure to sunlight. For best results, do this on the day of the full moon.
On a small piece of tape, write an expected or hope-for future and apply this to the side of one pot. Continue until all five pots have been designated with five different features. (Small signs attached to sticks or twigs may also be used, thrust into the earth near the pot's side.) Water as usual. The seed that first germinates determines the event that will most likely occur in the near future.
Using a silver knife, peel an apple so that it comes off the fruit in one unbroken strip. (If the peel breaks while paring, try again at a later time and eat the apple.)
When you've been successful, ask your question and throw the peel over your left shoulder. It will produce a shape on the floor behind you. If this shape is anything other than an O or U, the answer is yes.
Another apple divination is related to the daisy rite described below. It exists in many variants; here is one of the most popular. Find an apple that still has stem end attached. Ask your question. Hold the apple in your left hand and, with your right, begin twisting the stem. With each twist, say yes or no. The word that you say when the stem twists off (or directly prior to this occurrence) signifies the answer to your question.
This is perhaps the best known of all plant divinations. As you probably know, it consists of removing each petal from the daisy while saying "she loves me, she loves me not." (The masculine pronoun is used where appropriate.) The sentence stated as the last petal removed reveals the truth. Any daisy-like flower can be used for this technique.
A second form of daisy divination isn't limited to matters of love. Ask a binary question. As you pluck each petal, say yes or no. As the last petal falls, the answer has been given.
This type of procedure represents a genuine form of divination, proven effective during many centuries of practice. However, few persons today (especially the children who constitute its usual practitioners) are probably aware of this technique's great antiquity.
Use this technique to discover whether a wish will come true and how soon. Find a dandelion that has gone to seed. Ask whether some desired wish will come true. Blow hard against the seeds. If all the seeds fly off, your wish will be shortly granted. If a few of the seeds remain, a bit of time will be necessary for this to occur. If many of the seeds are left, your desire will not be granted.
An alternate method consists of thinking of your husband, wife, or mate, while blowing on the dandelion. If all of the seeds fly away, the relationship is stable. If not, problems may be on their way.
A third method: blow away the winged seeds, while asking a yes or no question. If they immediately fall to the ground, the answer is no. If they float away on the wind, yes.
Find a suitable leaf. Write a question upon the leaf. Place it in a safe spot. If it quickly withers and dries, the prospects aren't rosy. However, if it remains fresh and dries slowly, the sign are favorable.
Obtain a quantity of fine sand. (Color doesn't matter.) Pour it into a square or rectangular tray to the depth of three inches. Place this on a table before you. Hold a pencil or similar object loosley in your hand and place its point on the center of the sand. Close your eyes and state your question. Breath deeply and relax.
You'll have a strong urge to move the pencil. Let it move of its own accord across and through the sand. Continue this until the pencil stops moving, or in about three minutes.
Remove the pencil and look down at the symbols on the sand. There may be legible words or symbols in the sand. There may also be Y for yes, an N for no, or a P for perhaps. Some of the most commonly seen symbols in the sand include:
Large circle: Misfortune.
Small circle: News, especially pertaining to work.
Triangle: Success.
Square: Obstacles.
A Long Line: A Journey.
A Short Line: A Visitor.
A Heart: Love, relationships, and frienships.
Broken or uneven heart: Partings.
A Flower: Beginnings.
An X: Love.
If other symbols appear, interpret them with your question in mind.
1) Go outside at night when the sky is clear. Ask a question. If the stars seem to glow brighter, or if a shooting star races across the sky, the answer is yes. If nothing seems to occur after fifteen minutes, or if clouds blot out the stars, the response in no.
2) Before going to bed, walk outside, look up at the sky and say the following: "Stars, stars, show me the future." It will appear in a dream that night.
3) Wishing on a star is a popular practice. Outside, look at at one particular star for several minutes. State your hoped-for future. Close your eyes for three seconds. If, upon opening your eyes, they immediately fix on the same star, your future is as you wished. If you can't find it at once, your future will be different.
On the new moon (that is, when the moon first appears in the sky as a thin crescent), go outside and point a dull-bladed knife (preferably silver) at the moon. Say the following words:
Place the knife beneath your pillow. Speak to no one as you prepare for bed. Remember your dreams.
Go outside on a night that will probably bring a storm. Stand facing in any direction and wait for the first flash. If it appears to the left, it's a sign of trouble and heartaches. If, however, it appears on the right, this portends a happy, prosperous future. If it's directly overhead, a mixture of both. (This is also a sign that it might be best to take cover.) If you've asked a specific question it's answered in the same manner: to the left, no; to the right, yes. If it appears directly overhead, no answer can be given at this time.
The following is a near verbatim copy (spell check changes only) of Viennau's post to alt.divination describing the meaning of each of the cards in a regular playing deck when used for fortune-telling. I would also note that I have seen a couple of books at my local Bookstop with these listings. I have not compared them.
Aces- Happiness, love, friendship
King- a fair-haired man, affectionate and generous but impetuous
Queen- a fair-haired woman, trustworthy
Jack- a fair-haired young person, a good friend
10- good fortune, happiness
9- the "wish" card; desires come true
8- invitations, but also partings
7- someone is unreliable
6- unexpected good fortune; generosity
5- jealousy, indecision
4- changes, possibly travel or postponements
3- need for caution
2- success, friendship
Ace- conflicts, a difficult love affair
King- dark-haired man, ambitious, usually successful
Queen- dark-haired woman, can be seductive or unscrupulous
Jack- dark-haired young person, a well-meaning person
10- worry
9- bad luck, can mean delays or quarrels
8- disappointments and opposition
7- a warning against possible loss of friendship
6- an improvement in the person's life
5- anxiety, setbacks, interferences
4- jealousy, business troubles
3- partings, possible due to faithlessness
2- scandal, gossip, danger of deceit
Ace- a money, ring
King- fair-haired man, stubborn and powerful
Queen- fair-haired woman, flirtatious, sophisticated, witty
Jack- a relative, someone not quite reliable
10- journey, changes, usually bringing wealth
9- opportunities and surprises, usually financial
8- late marriage or new relationship; unexpected money
7- a gift
6- a reconciliation; a warning against a possible second marriage
5- successful meetings, particularly in business
4- an inheritance, a change for the better
3- legal or domestic battles
2- a love affair becomes more important than hitherto
Ace- Harmony, property, achievements, love
King- a dark-haired man, honest, open
Queen- a dark-haired woman, string-minded, helpful, attractive
Jack- a reliable friend
10- money from an unexpected source, good luck or gift
9- a new romance
8- opposition, danger or recklessness
7- prosperity, though a danger of romantic interference
6- business success
5- help from a friend or spouse
4- bad changes or alliance
3- good marriage or alliance
2- disappointment and opposition
1. fair or grey-haired man over 40....... King of Diamonds
2. fair or grey haired woman over 40..... Queen of Diamonds
3. fair-haired young man ................ King of Hearts
4. fair-haired young woman .............. Queen of Hearts
5. dark-haired man over 40............... King of Spades
6. dark-haired woman over 40............. Queen of Spades
7. dark-haired young man................. King of Clubs
8. dark-haired young woman............... Queen of Clubs