Divination – The Art of Insight
Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge of future events, gaining an insight to questions unknown or interpreting signs and symbols through supernatural means. The word Divination come from the Latin word divinare, meaning to foresee or to foretell.
A person who practices divination is called a Soothsayer, which literally means a person who “Say the Sooth” which when you say it really does not make a whole lot of sense, right? Let me explain it a little more, Sooth is an old English word for “Truth” now when it is added to say, it means one who speaks the truth. Which now makes more sense.
Webster's Dictionary explains Divination as: unusual insight OR the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers.
Divination is not only about foretelling the future; it is about reading current patterns to gain insight to the bigger picture of what can be possible.
History of Divination
The wise ones who came before us were healers, oracles, and diviners, seeking knowledge and sharing that with others. They lived in a magikal world where Divine guidance was a way of life and was for everyone who sort advice.
Divination is an ancient practice and can be found in the Bible. Joseph used Hydromancy to divine the future by pouring water into a cup. He would then throw little pieces of gold into the cup and interpreting the shapes that were made. The Three Wise Men observed the Stars to learn when and where within Bethlehem the Christ Child, Jesus was to be born. The Ancient Greeks had Oracles who the Gods would speak through to impart Divine advice for loyal subjects. The Chinese I-Ching is a form of divination that dates to 1000BC.
Within the later part of the 19th Century, there has been a huge revival of Divination with the practice of Palmistry, Tarot Cards, Oracle Cards, Astrology, Rune Stone, even Crystals have been used to divine the future.
Divination to me is the ability to unlock all the secrets we keep inside, a spiritual growth and evolution of the self, a way to communicate with our Inner Witch and find guidance from within. We can open ourselves up to the Universe and all she has to offer.
What is Divination?
Divination is a tool that guides us, it will not give you the answer, it foretells an outcome. As we all know the future is not set-in stone, we all make decisions that may affect the future. Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge and guidance from a higher spirit or source.
Let us look at Tarot for instance. Tarot is a tool of divination. The cards will not tell you what is going to happen. They are more like a roadmap, outlining a short trip through life. They can show you places you could go; they may also warn you of places to stay away from and where detours may be found if you choose to follow them. A short trip I hear you say?? Tarot and other forms of Divination will not predict your whole live, but only shows a snapshot, usually around 6 months forward.
Did you know books are a form of Divination? Christians consult the Bible for divine messages; Muslims believe the Quran is a series of divine messages from Allah and Witches have the “Book of Answers” and my personal favourite book “Bag of Jewels” these books are all divination tools.
I bet you know what star sign you are, right? Aries, Taurus, Libra or Capricorn, these are all forms of divination. How many times a week do you consult the online horoscope? Reading what today holds. I am a Libra, and after reading the horoscope today, it suggested that “I have no control over what happens, so I should just go with the flow. I have worked hard for what I have so enjoy it.” Yes, I know, it's very broad, so I think it is telling me I am on the right track with this topic, but should hurry up and finish this blog so all my readers can enjoy it.
We all rush to the phone each morning, reading the horoscope to find out what the day may hold for us and interpret the words to fit our own life.
Divination tools such as Tarot, Runes and Numerology are a way to unlock our subconscious minds. A deck of Tarot Cards does not mean very much unless someone is there to interpret what they have to say.
Most Witches will choose at least one divination tool throughout their spiritual path from Tarot and Crystals to Astrology and Runes. There are so many forms of divination out there, here are just a few for you to ponder and practice:
Cartomancy
Cartomancy is the art of card reading. Cartomancy was first practiced in Europe around the 14th century, soon after playing cards were introduced. Practitioners would use the standard 52 card decks to foretell the future, this was most popular in the 18th, 19th, and 20th Century.
In France, cartomantic readings were done with a Piquet Deck. This deck is a standard 52 card deck with all the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s removed, leaving the 7s, 8s, 9s and 10s, all the face cards and the aces to read.
Today the most common form of Cartomancy is Tarot. Tarot dates back to Europe in the mid-15th Century when they were simply playing cards that were used in Tarocchini, a game popular in Italy (a trick-taking tarot card game) and the Austrian game of Konigrufen, (a four player trick taking tarot game). It was not until the late 18th Century that the Tarot deck was used for divination, which lead to some decks being crafted for occult purposes.
The most popular of the Tarot Decks is the Rider-Waite Deck, first published in December 1909 and still in production today.
Oracle Cards are another form Cartomancy. There are literally hundreds of different Oracle Cards out there, from Angels to Vampires, Faeries to Dragonfae, Crystals to Essential Oils and even Moon to Witchcraft Oracle Cards. I am guilty of this form of Cartomancy; I love it and have at least 8 different decks of Oracle Cards. My favourite is the Healing with the Fairies Oracle Card by Doreen Virtue, but as I said there are hundreds of different styles and I hope you can find the right one for you.
Numerology
I believe that numbers do have a significance in our lives, some people are superstitious of the number 13, while others embrace this number to be lucky. Numerology is the belief in the mystical relationship between a number and one or more corresponding event. Like Astrology, where it is associated with our Birth, Numerology uses our birth date to calculate our Life Path Number. This Life Path Number corresponds to our personality profile and what that profile says about us both the good traits and the not so good traits. The Ancient Egyptians would attribute magikal numbers to letters of the alphabet and use this system to foretell the future.
But there are so many other applications for numerology, from the house we choose to live in, lucky lotto numbers we pick each week and even the meaning we attached to a mobile number we have. Numerology is easy to do and can be used in your day to day life.
Cleromancy
This form of divination is Sortition or the casting of lots, which can include Runes, I-Ching Coins and Dice. The word Sortition means “the action of deciding something by casting or drawing of lots.” Casting of Lots was a method used by Christian Disciples before Pentecost and the Jews to determine the will of God. Lots are sticks or stones with markings and symbols carved onto them, they are then cast, and the results are interpreted. There are many instances of lot casting throughout the Bible. One is Prov. 16:33 “the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD,” Today Lot Casting is predominantly done by more Pagans and Wiccans than Christians.
Like Cartomancy, the art of Rune Casting is not fortune telling or predicting the future but is a valuable tool of guidance. The rune can present to us a roadmap for our journey through life. This casting tool originated from Ancient German and Nordic Tribes and uses one of the oldest runic alphabets, developed by the Germanic. Each symbol on a Rune Stone corresponds with a meaning, showing us what our Heart is telling us to pay attention to.
Astragalomancy
Another form of Cleromancy is casting of Dice, known as Astragalomancy, this form of divination uses Dice that are marked with symbols, letters, or numbers. This term comes from the Greek word “Astragalos” which means Knucklebone, or in this case Dice and the word “Materia” meaning divination
Originally, this was a dice game played with knucklebones or other small bones and the best ones to use were from the vertebrae of Sheep. Then numbers, letters or symbols were scratched into the bones and used for divination. The Diviner would cast the Bones in a random sequence and interpret their meaning from what symbols, letters or numbers were showing.
Today we can use simply playing Dice. One method is Yes / No, where even number are Yes, and odd numbers become No. Simply ask a closed ended question (Will I meet the man of my dreams tonight?) and roll the Dice for your Yes / No Answer. Another predicts a future outcome and is a three dice cast, adding the total numbers of all dice and referring to a list for the future outcome answer.
Which brings me nicely to our Divination Dice Set, now available online at Mystic Cauldron. This beautifully hand crafted 3 Dice set comes with an Instruction Booklet with meanings of all Symbols. Simply hold the Dice, ask your question, cast the Dice, refer to the booklet and receive guidance.
https://mysticcauldron.com.au/collections/divination
Blessed Be