Ask a Witch: Divination Techniques
Bibliomancy: Divination with the Bible
Bibliomancy is when, after praying and asking God your questions, you open to a random page in the Bible, wherever you are called to stop, and read a random passage. This passage will be your answer. This technique has also been used with other books, like the Illiad, the Odessy, the Mabinogion, etc. When I used this technique, in around 2015-2016, I used a book entitled The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton.
Dreams
Using dreams as a form of divination has always been a fun thing for me, especially when I was new to Witchcraft. Dreams were always a fascination of mine, and a few times I managed to successfully remember some dreams in which I had asked for guidance. I’ve found that this technique requires more practice and patience than others.
Lithomancy
This is the practice of divination with crystals. There are many ways to use this technique, but I have always used the method that was similar to Rune drawing. Gather your crystals (this can be anywhere from 5-20) and assign each of them a property. This is usually done by assigning meanings that are already similar to that of the crystal’s existing property (ex Sunstone=solar energy, hematite=attraction, amethyst=psychic energy). Then you can draw a single crystal from the bag, or do a “spread” with multiple crystals, or you can use a board setup where you interpret the meanings of the crystals based on where they landed on your board.
Scrying
Scrying allows you to see visions in a reflective surface, or other means of reading patterns. Many forms of scrying involve getting yourself into a meditative state, relaxing your eyes and gazing at a dimly lit surface in order to see images. Things that are often used to scry would be a bowl of water, a candle, or a mirror. However, there are other types of scrying that involve reading the clouds or leaves in a tree for a image, as well as the practice of throwing a substance (beads, rocks, runes, bones, sand, etc) and gaining a vision from the pattern that you see.
Tasseography
This is a form of divination that I am not too familiar with, which is the reading of tea leaves. It holds the same concept as scrying, but using the tea leaves in an empty cup as a medium. Make a cup of tea with loose tea leaves and drink the tea while meditating on your question. Once you have finished the tea, all that is left is the leaves. In the leaves there should be a vision in response to your question.
Runes
Runes are one of my more favored methods of divination. Depending on the set you are using, each stone (or piece of wood) will have a symbol etched into it. Each symbol represents something different. The runes can be drawn from a bag, thrown on the floor, or picked at random from a pile. The runes can also be read using spreads or boards if you wish.
Pendulums
Pendulums are a nice and simple form of divination for many beginners. Most pendulums aren’t anything fancy and in fact can be something as simple as a ring on a cord. Boards can be made as well, or one can simply read the different motions of the pendulum to determine an answer. It is also easy because you, the caster, tell the pendulum exactly how to reach. When you ask a question, tell the pendulum which direction means what. With my first pendulum, I told it that left was no, right was yes, and a circle meant conflict.
Candle Wax
This works similar to scrying. You light a candle and meditate with it for a little while, going over your question. After the candle has had a little time to burn, you pour the wax into a bowl of water. The wax will instantly cool and harden, and in the shapes you should have the answer you are looking for.
