I have touched a little bit on divination before in one of previous posts and I believe I did mention that I was going to be doing one of these post, so here you go!
I am not the most educated when it comes to divination, I know what I know and it works, so why should I try anything else? Because growth, girl! Because expansion of the mind! Because it’s damn amazing to know all these witchy things! That’s why!
So upon doing my mystical research, I honestly learnt some really cool forms of divination that I’m annoyed I didn’t know before, so here are the different forms of divination :
Tarot Cards - the most common form of divination on this planet (besides crystal balls). You go to a carnival and happen across a fortune teller in a caravan, what has she most likely got on the table in front of her? A crystal ball and tarot cards. The only difference here is that anyone who actually uses tarot cards knows that this is not going to “tell you your future”, it’s simply vague guideline, just some probable insight into the forces at work. When I first started I relied on this handy book that helped me translate every card through the reading, now I only look at it every now and then. Three-card spreads are my favourite! You can literally use them for anything. I personally don’t like just drawing cards, i lay them out and hover my hand over the top moving across the spread out cards and whenever I feel a slight tug I know that’s the card. I go over it a few times just to be sure, but i just don’t like picking random cards, not my style.
Nordic Runes - another one I am very familiar with, created by Odin and given to humankind as a gift. (”Oh, they’re lovely, thanks.”). When I first got into the craft I think it was one of the first few things I was taught out of my reading and the symbols and their meanings are fairly well known. I have passed a handful of strangers with runes tattooed on them and when asked about them they actually knew the meanings and details of the runes. Runes are similar to the tarot in the sense that they are a guideline not so much a prediction, also generally used to address issues. Readings are done by putting all the runes in a pouch and drawing, depending on the question, the select number of runes out. My go to number is always three. There are some amazing DIY’s for runes, but the real magic is in the carving of the runes. I really like the way they look when burnt into wooden disks, especially if the bark is still intact in the edges.
Celtic Ogham - this is one I had surprisingly never heard of. Out of all the books I have read on Celtic magic and they failed to inform me of this? What the heck, guys? So, from my understanding, there are 25 letters in the Ogham alphabet; 20 if you wanna be super traditional. They have so many correspondences I will honestly need to learn them all, but now is not the time. It was supposedly created by Ogma, to show off how well spoken he was, or something like that. (I only skimmed the article when it came to this part, sorry guys.) Now the method for using the Celtic Ogham is very similar to runes. The symbols are normally carved onto wooden staves, placed into a pouch and drawn out when seeking the answer to a question. Very cool and I plan to DIY a set of these someday.
Tasseomancy - the art of reading tea leaves. This is one I haven’t tried, purely because drinking tea with loose tea leaves just sounds terrible. Basically you need to make your tea with the loose leaves and drink it. You have to leave a little bit of the tea left over to swirl the tea leaves around so that they can form a pattern. Just do it a few times so the leaves aren’t spread out everywhere. You might end up with one big picture or you will end up with a few little ones. In this case go clockwise around the cup. It works kind of like a timeline. Now look at your blobs and try to see the images in the blobs. There are plenty of guides for figuring out what these images mean or you could just go with your gut feeling.
Automatic Writing - this method uses the spirit realm to get messages. For this you would need to be in a meditative state, enter with a clear mind or a question or thought and, with a pen and paper in hand, just let the words come to you. You can even write the question or subject on the piece of paper and let the spirits take over. Like with any form of divination, you will need practice. If you have been sitting there for 20 minutes and haven’t gotten anything then maybe take a break and try to clear your mind a bit more. This method is used by loads of mediums for getting answers or just connecting to people who have passed on. I would advise that we take caution when it comes to using this method as it can open doors for spirits, not all of the things you’re opening yourself up to are friendly, so always make sure you are protected and ready for whatever there is to come.
Osteomancy - reading bones, being South African I’m fairly familiar with the cultural background of osteomancy. The Sangomas (basically the medicine men) of the villages have been known to use this method of divination. The way it’s done is the bones were placed into a bowl or pouch and mixed with various stones, shells and feathers and shaken out onto a mat. Reading it relies solely on intuition and requires a lot of training to master. Depending on the bone and it’s position on the mat, the way it’s facing, the objects surrounding it. In my opinion this is one of the most difficult forms of divination to master.
Scrying - this one is also pretty common and comes in loads of forms (I will need to do a separate post for all the different methods of scrying. There’s fire scrying, water scrying, using a black mirror, etc. There tons of different methods but I’m going to use the example of water scrying. Most people like using reflective surfaces to scry since it is the easiest. Simply clear your mind again or keep the intent in the back of your mind and focus on the water. Follow all the slight ripples until you’re fully connected to the small body of water. You could see images or shapes on the surface or you could see mental images. It’s different with everyone and what the universe is trying to show you.
Pendulum Divination - the easiest to make, since you can use your own necklace as a pendulum, this is purely for yes or no questions and is basically a simplified version of a ouija board. Again, take caution when working with spirits. You might think you’re talking to a recently deceased family member or one of your ancestors and it could end up being something else completely and be in a bit of trouble. When using the pendulum some people use sheets for more advanced questions but I would say just using the four directions; left, right, front and back; for answers. Ask some basic questions that you will know the answer to first to see which direction is “yes” and which is “no”. Once you have that down you can ask away.
Numerology - using numbers in divination. Numbers hold a lot of magical significance (any witch can tell you that). There are specific numbers that we like to stick to and we stick to it for a reason. Odd numbers are related to a feminine energy, while even numbers are related to masculine energy. Different numbers have different meanings and in order to use this method research should be done on the different meanings of numbers. Play around with numbers in magic. use numerology to find your birth number, name number, fate number, your pinnacle numbers, etc.
These are all the methods of divination I could cover for now. Watch this space for upcoming, in depth tutorials for each of these methods.
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