DIVINATION

 

Divination is sometimes called fortune telling although many who work with divination actually work more with where you are now and the likely outcomes of your current actions or those suggested by the reading.  There are many types of divination and most have been used for many, many years.  The following is a brief outline of some the types of divination.  The key element with all forms of divination is that whatever is used is a tool to enable the reader to ‘tap into’ that person and the higher consciousness.  Following the principle that ‘in spirit there is no time’ it is possible to link into the pool of energy that surrounds all our actions.

 

You do, of course, have to remember that no-one is an island and although your likely course and the direction you choose to take may be clear insofar as the actions you must take there will inevitably be others involved who also have a part in your progress.  A simple way to think about this is say you want to change your job you cannot move into your perfect job until the person who is currently in that job moves/the job is created and they cannot move until their right space is available and so on.  You can see, therefore, that your life is always impacted by others many of whom you will never know!

 

TAROT CARDS

 

Tarot cards normally comprise a set of 78 cards divided into two sets; the major and the minor arcana.   The major arcana consist of 22 cards as follows -

 

0 The Fool

1 The Magician

2 The High Priestess

3 The Empress

4 The Emperor

5 The Hierophant/Pope

6 The Lovers

7 The Chariot

8 Strength

9 The Hermit

10 The Wheel of Fortune

11 Justice

12 Hanged Man

13 Death

14 Temperance

15 The Devil

16 The Tower

17 The Star

18 The Moon

19 The Sun

20 Judgement

21 The World

 

 

The Minor Arcana are comprised of four suits -

 

Pentacles also known as coins or deniers

Swords

Wands also known as rods or staves

Cups

 

Each of the suits are number 1 (ace) through to 10 and then the Court cards of Page, Knight, Queen and King. The Court cards are also described in different ways in some decks too such as prince, princess etc.

 

This is the general format and individual deck have variations specific to them.  Certain decks such as the Rider Waite and the Hanson Roberts are considered to be ‘basic’ sets in that they contain all the meanings of the cards within the pictures and have no other additional stories running through them.  This type of set is good for a beginner to start to learn the card meanings.

 

Each card has a specific set of meanings that are interpreted within a reading taking all the cards into account.  However, your higher guidance/intuition is key here and if you feel that it has a different meaning in context go with that provided it is your intuitive response and not your logical on based on other information you already have about the person or situation.

 

There are hundreds if not thousands of tarot decks and there will be the one for you in there somewhere!  Best guidance is to go for the deck that you feel drawn towards.  Those that have additional stories such as the Mythical (Greek myths), Lord of the Rings, Arthurian can be more complex to work with for beginners as they have the traditional tarot meanings and the additional ‘story’ to combine in the reading.  You will also find that there are some differences in the decks in the order that the cards appear; a few also have additional cards.

 

The cards can be read in a variety of ways such as drawing one a day for guidance, a three card spread for past, present and future in a particular situation.  However, generally in order to obtain a more detailed answer the cards are laid out in what is called a spread or layout.  Again there are many different spreads that can be used either for general or more specific issues.  One of the most common is the Celtic Cross consisting of 10 cards.

 

                                                                           

 

Position 1  -   Yourself, where you are at the moment

Position 2  -   The Crossing card or what is in your way for better or worse

Position 3  -   What is above you or most on your mind at this time

Position 4  -   What is at the bottom of things, underpinning the situation or your mindset

Position 5  -   The immediate past

Position 6  -   The near future

Position 7  -   How you see things, your input to the situation

Position 8  -   How others see the situation and environmental effects

Position 9  -   Your hopes and fears

Position 10 - The outcome

 

 

This interpretation is one of the common versions but again you will that other commentators do give different meanings to the positions.  The key is to find the version that you are comfortable with and work with that.  There are no right or wrong versions simply the best ones for you.

 

When reading a spread the position of the card and the surrounding cards also has a bearing on the meaning of each card and this is the part that takes the time to learn and be comfortable with.  Beginning you may only work with upright cards for simplicity but full readings include upright and reversed cards.  The reversed position is normally the opposite of the upright position.  It is not necessarily negative but could indicate say that whilst the outcome will be possible it will be delayed.

 

 

PLAYING CARDS

 

Playing cards have been read possibly even longer than Tarot cards and they can be viewed like the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.  The four suits correspond and can be read in similar fashion using single cards, 3 cards or the more involved layouts/spreads.

 

 

 

ORACLE CARDS

 

There is a huge range of Oracle Cards covering a multitude of topics.  Probably the most frequently encountered are Angel Cards, Animal cards and Fairy Cards; but the list is almost endless.  Generally the deck is around 44 cards and may contain a picture with a single word or name or a short message or description on each card.  Reading Oracle cards is probably simpler than Tarot as the meanings of the cards are more straightforward.  The principle is still the same, however, and you use the cards to link into your higher levels of awareness.  Oracle cards are also easier to read for yourself as they are more self evident and the tendency to see what you want to see is reduced.

 

When choosing the cards this is also down to your personal preference.  You may like fairies, animals, angels, goddesses etc.  Whatever your preference you can be sure that there is a deck of Oracle Deck to suit you. 

 

CRYSTAL BALLS

 

The crystal ball is probably the first thing many people think of when you refer to divination or fortune telling.  The way the ball works is that you are able to project the image that you are ‘seeing’ in  your higher awareness within the ball.  You use a technique something like looking at the 3D pictures; looking with relaxed eyes slightly through the ball rather than at it.  Normally when you begin to see in the ball you see a clouding over before this clears and you see the pictures.  It is important to ensure that there are no reflections coming into the ball so it is usually best to use the ball in low light and sitting on a black silk scarf or similar.

 

Whether you use a glass ball or a natural quartz one is up to you.  The glass balls are much clearer and a lot cheaper.  Natural quartz will normally have some inclusions or other natural shading or rainbows within the sphere, they are rarely totally clear and such balls will be very expensive and increasingly expensive as you go up the scale of size.

 

Another form of ball is the obsidian (black) ball.  The technique is slightly different as the ball is opaque and is more like using the scrying mirror.

 

SCRYING MIRROR

 

Scrying mirrors are usually black mirrors and can either be made from black obsidian or glass with black backing.  I personally find these easier to use than the crystal balls as it is simpler to avoid reflections from your surroundings but as usual it is, of course, personal preferences.  Again relax your eyes and look ‘through’ the mirror rather than at it.

 

Scrying mirrors can be simply a polished piece of obsidian or framed obsidian or glass in a variety of sizes and designs.

 

 

SCRYING BOWL

 

Scrying bowls too come in a variety of shapes and styles but the principle is the same.  The inside of the bowl is black and you put water into the bowl and look into the water in a similar way to using a crystal ball or scrying mirror.

 

You can improvise this without a bowl by using black ink or even a puddle of water.

 

DOWSING RODS AND PENDULUMS

 

Dowsing rods and pendulums are popular tools.  Usually rods tend to be used more outdoors and pendulums inside but that is more to do with practicality as both rods and pendulums can be used for the same purpose.  Dowsing or divining rods have been, and still are used, to locate water and other things under the ground.  To use the rods hold them loosely one in each hand about a foot apart and parallel to each other. Then you slowly walk forward and when you have located whatever you are looking for the rods cross over each other.  A cheap way to start with dowsing rods is to made some from wire coat hangers.

 

Pendulums are made in a variety of different materials; all sorts of crystals and minerals, wood, metal, filled glass tubes to name but a few.  The only principle for a pendulum is that the thing on the end must be heavier than the thread/cord from which it is suspended. In olden days the gender of a baby was divined using the mother to be’s wedding ring suspended from one of the hairs from her head.

 

Pendulums give your answers by swinging backwards or forwards or circling clockwise or anticlockwise.  You can decide which works best for you and set that as the way in which you want to receive the answers so that it is always consistent.

 

RUNES

 

The most commonly seen runes are what are often called Celtic Runes.  Runes are stones, clay or wooden discs with the Runic characters carved or painted on the surface.  They are selected in a similar way to cards.  The runes have upright and reversed positions and meanings for each position.  You can set them out in specific layouts or, just as with cards, choose one for the day or a 3 stone past present and future reading.

 

In addition to this type of rune there are an assortment of other types such as Witches Runes and Ancient Egyptian Runes.  As you can imagine these use symbols relevant to the topic but are read like Celtic Runes but with the additional references dependent upon the type of rune you use.