Divination Survey - Early Thoughts
I've been running a divination theory survey to look into divination trends, common theories, thoughts around digital tools, and the conflict/bias surrounding digital tools. It's still early days, and I don't have a ton of responses yet, but I figured I'd put together a quick summary of what I've got so far.
(And by "quick summary" I mean "detailed overview of the questions I'm most excited about right now." This post got away from me, lol.)
Preferred Tools:
Right up at the top, it's no surprise that tarot is the most commonly used tool with a whopping 88% selection rate. In second place is oracle cards with 54.5%, followed closely by pendulum at 45.5%.
Custom entries include runes (which I can't believe I forgot to put as an option!!!), smoke divination, candle divination, geomancy, astrology (horary astrology, specifically), numerology, tasseomancy, and dream divination.
And 15.2% of respondents selected shufflemancy! Considering my recent interest in the history and theory of shufflemancy, this is very cool to me.
Under the question about most preferred tools, tarot wins out again with 75% of respondents selecting tarot as their primary tool. Oracle cards sit at a distant second place with 12%.
How Does Divination Work for You?
BY FAR the question I was most excited about in this entire survey. The answers to this are so, so interesting. Just over 50% of respondents selected that they have a combination of beliefs surrounding how divination works, and no two explanations are exactly alike.
The 12.1% slice is "I intuitively understand the messages presented by my tool using patterns and imagery." The rest are most of the other default responses. It's a very cool spread of choices, and I'm almost surprised to see that nearly every option I laid out was selected.
But that big slice, hoo boy. That's where the super interesting stuff is. Responses include:
Animism, lots and lots of animism. I'm not surprised! It's a common theory that tools have spirits and/or minds of their own. This is most often in combination with messages from deities (the tool's spirit helps to interpret) and with the reader's intuition.
A lot of introspection. Using intuition and personal ability to "tap into" the subconscious or the universe, the tool becomes a conduit for these messages.
Tons and tons and tons of spirit work. Messages from spirits, signs from deities, help from ancestors... This is overwhelmingly the most common response, most often in combination with personal intuition.
So interesting. There are a lot of common threads, but everyone describes it differently. The connection to something "higher," a spirit or deity or somesuch thing, is pervasively common.
Expertise
Just a quick pause at the expertise questions, because it's really interesting to note. I've gotten a wide spread of self-reported expertise levels; at first, it was mostly beginners rating themselves anywhere from a one to a four. Now, It's evenly spread.
Respondents most commonly report their expertise with their most preferred tool between a four and a seven, with precisely two ten out of tens. The overall expertise in divination falls, though, skewing significantly lower. 30% chose a six, and only 15% chose something higher than that.
I suspect that this is due to the huge range of divination methods out there. It'd be impossible to be perfect at every method... I type, staring very curiously at the single ten out of ten.
Divination & Predicting the Future
Skipping downwards a little bit, I asked whether respondents believe divination can actually predict the future. This question has, by far, the most even split between options. Let me run through everything and let you draw your own conclusions here:
18% chose "Yes, I do"
3% chose "No, I don't"
18% chose "Yes, but it's better as an introspective tool"
15% chose "Yes, but it's better for communication with spirits or deities"
15% chose "Sometimes, it isn't accurate or reliable"
15% chose "Maybe, I'm not sure"
3% chose "Maybe, it hasn't been proven or disproven by science"
6% chose "No, it's just a self-improvement or introspective tool"
3% chose "Yes, but only under certain circumstances"
And one person wrote in an answer that summarizes as "Yes, but only if things stay on the path exactly as they are now"
Conflicted respondents state similar reasonings -- the future being in flux, free will making changes, reading only one possible outcome, and so forth.
Accuracy Reports
No matter what respondents said to whether divination can predict the future, every single respondent rated their accuracy at five or higher. 40% rated themselves an eight. Readings done by other readers skewed only slightly lower.
We're a reasonably accurate bunch, I suppose!
Digital Tool Usage
88% of respondents report using a digital tool for divination at some point. This is mostly tarot, unsurprisingly. Other responses include oracle, lenormand, and (!!!) shufflemancy.
I threw in the random number generator and color/hex generator options for fun, but they did get selected a couple times each!
As for usage preferences, the majority of respondents rated digital tools very, very low. When compared to physical tools, most of the respondents selected that they'd be significantly more likely to choose a physical tool over a digital tool. For readings done for others, this opinion is even stronger, with ratings skewing closer to one.
Written opinions on this vary. Several respondents indicated that they distrust the internet or algorithm behind the digital tools. One person said, and I cannot stop thinking about this, "I trust whatever spirit is in the internet way less." They make specific mention of distrusting algorithms, often stating it's not true divination due to being computer generated.
The most common hangup is the lack of connection with the tool in question. Respondents report difficulty making the connection to the digital tool, which impacts the quality of their readings. Others state it's difficult to get in the divination "mindset" with a digital tool as opposed to a physical one.
On the other hand, proponents of digital tools mention that they've made those connections and have no trouble with it. They note the ease of access, the convenience, the portability, and the subtlety of digital tools kept in one's phone.
The AI Problem
Shock and awe! Opinions on AI-generated divination are overwhelmingly negative. Reasoning ranges from moral quandries over the sentience of AI to issues with misinformation to sustainability to stealing jobs from human diviners.
Interestingly, though, several respondents stated that they would be willing to try AI divination at least once. As it becomes more accurate, reliable, and has improved limitations/laws surrounding it to protect workers and prevent misuse, they might just give it a go.
For now, the vast majority of respondents state that they'll be sticking to divination done by real, live, humans.
Stick Around for More!
Thanks for reading! Drop a comment or a reblog and let me know what you think. The conversation keeps my brain afloat in the Tank of Research and helps me focus and consider new perspectives.
If you're interested in my work on this subject, check out my #digital divination tag. And, if you haven't already, consider dropping a response into the survey this data came from! I don't have enough to draw solid conclusions yet, so every bit helps. I'm sharing my data and additional research every week.
AND, if you like my work and would like to facilitate this research and help me keep food on the table, consider visiting my Ko-Fi page! Every dollar helps me worry less about staying alive and worry more about the origins of divination methods.