Divination (Fortune Telling)
The quest to know your future is one that has existed for hundreds of years and many different types of divination have evolved over that time. Divination is sometimes called fortune telling although personally I feel that calling it fortune telling creates something more of an end of the pier feel which undermines the way in which divination can be used. The only point in time in which we can be make any changes is in the now. So being able to identify where we are and the likely way in which things will progress if we continue in the same way or if we make certain changes can help with decision making in the present time. 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! It is, therefore, a good idea when reading for others to consider what you say and how you say it. Nothing is cast in stone and although there are likely outcomes to be seen this is on the basis of the situation as it is at the time of the reading. Things can change. Telling someone that something WILL happen can also mean that they then fail to do (or not do) things that would have led them to that event. Saying you see them with a University degree (for instance) would require them doing something about it, going to university or doing an online course and the degree will not happen without that effort being put in.
Please also remember that good practice dictates that if you see something particularly bad (such as the death of the person that you are reading for) you DO NOT tell them that. There will be other information that can be given but use your good sense. People often seek divination when they are in a vulnerable state and it is important that this is borne in mind by the reader.
WHICH FORM OF DIVINATION IS FOR ME?
Some people use a whole range of different types of divination whilst others settle with one form only. Probably the best way to find out which your will find suits you is simply to try the different types and see how you get on. Start with the type that attracts you most and go from there.
The following is a brief outline of some the most popular types of divination. There are various ways to use these types of divination and many different perspectives to describe them. I have selected ones that I feel are best suited to provide a general view of the topic.
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 thattakes 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.
Divination (Fortune Telling)
The quest to know your future is one that has existed for hundreds of years and many different types of divination have evolved over that time. Divination is sometimes called fortune telling although personally I feel that calling it fortune telling creates something more of an end of the pier feel which undermines the way in which divination can be used. The only point in time in which we can be make any changes is in the now. So being able to identify where we are and the likely way in which things will progress if we continue in the same way or if we make certain changes can help with decision making in the present time. 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! It is, therefore, a good idea when reading for others to consider what you say and how you say it. Nothing is cast in stone and although there are likely outcomes to be seen this is on the basis of the situation as it is at the time of the reading. Things can change. Telling someone that something WILL happen can also mean that they then fail to do (or not do) things that would have led them to that event. Saying you see them with a University degree (for instance) would require them doing something about it, going to university or doing an online course and the degree will not happen without that effort being put in.
Please also remember that good practice dictates that if you see something particularly bad (such as the death of the person that you are reading for) you DO NOT tell them that. There will be other information that can be given but use your good sense. People often seek divination when they are in a vulnerable state and it is important that this is borne in mind by the reader.
WHICH FORM OF DIVINATION IS FOR ME?
Some people use a whole range of different types of divination whilst others settle with one form only. Probably the best way to find out which your will find suits you is simply to try the different types and see how you get on. Start with the type that attracts you most and go from there.
The following is a brief outline of some the most popular types of divination. There are various ways to use these types of divination and many different perspectives to describe them. I have selected ones that I feel are best suited to provide a general view of the topic.
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 thattakes 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.