Divination, the art of seeking knowledge of the future or hidden secrets, has been practiced across cultures and throughout history. While there are many different methods and tools used in divination, the underlying purpose is the same - to gain insight and guidance. One of the most well-known forms of divination is astrology, which involves interpreting the positions and movements of celestial bodies to determine a person's destiny or personality traits. Astrologers use horoscopes and birth charts to provide guidance and predictions. Tarot card readings are another popular form of divination. Tarot decks consist of 78 cards, each with its own meaning and symbolism.
It can take a lot of patience to try and find shapes and patterns in flour and admittedly it’s much easier with tea leaves. No wonder that became the standard. Don’t get disheartened if it isn’t something you have success with. You might have more fun and results experimenting with the baking slips of paper into dough methods. Great for ritual cookies!
There s an emotional and internal reflection aspect that can be helpful to refer back to and examine how things went in your life after certain sessions. Instead, the trouble of a person is attributed to witchcraft, sorcery, or ancestral vexation all of which are believed to be arbitrary and morally undeserved.
Tarot decks consist of 78 cards, each with its own meaning and symbolism. The reader shuffles the cards and lays them out in a specific pattern, interpreting their meanings to answer questions or provide guidance. Palmistry, also known as palm reading, examines the lines and shapes on a person's hand to reveal aspects of their character and potential future events.
Multiple ways of divining
Divination is the method of discerning answers beyond a direct interaction. It can be used for foreseeing future outcomes or problems, but that isn’t inherent. It can also be used to commune with entities like deities or spirits, or even for delving deeper into the self (like shadow work).
There are many forms of divination. So many. There are even many forms of what would be considered “unusual” beyond the more commonly practices like cartomancy, runes, or stichomancy. Today I shall be focusing on ones I’m familiar with so I can better elaborate and answer questions.
The methods I will be exploring today:
- Aleuromancy: divination using flour (or a flour substitute!)
- Catoptromancy: a form of scrying using a mirror (my method uses a cast iron pan actually!)
- Osteomancy: divination using bones
Aleuromancy
A form of divination using flour that’s mentioned in some Mesopotamian cunefiorms, as well as being practiced in Greece and Rome. There are a couple ways this can be done. Firstly is when you pour out the dry flour and look at the way it falls into a bowl or on a plate or surface. Much like tea leaf reading (tasseography), you seek out shapes in the flour and interpret based on that. Another variation is doing the same but after you’ve mixed the flour with the liquids you’re baking with and kneaded it/mixed it and then taken it away to be baked. You examine the remaining streaks of wet dough on your surfaces for shapes and patterns.
The third method is to actually put slips of paper into the items you’re baking to be taken at random and broken open to answers questions after they’re cooked (akin to fortune cookies). This can be a tricky process depending on what sort of paper or ink you’ve used (speaking from experience :-X). The historical Greek version of this used excerpts of famous philosophy and mixed the balls of doughs nine times (a significant number in Ancient Greece)
It can take a lot of patience to try and find shapes and patterns in flour and admittedly it’s much easier with tea leaves. No wonder that became the standard. Don’t get disheartened if it isn’t something you have success with. You might have more fun and results experimenting with the baking slips of paper into dough methods. Great for ritual cookies!
The kind of divining using this method is very simple, more “omen-like” than detailed q&as like in Tarot or runes. Expect to see simple images that may give insight to something coming your way (a boat or bird showing a trip) or warn of a specific type of trouble that may be on the horizon (a money sign showing finances) rather than getting a formulated question clearly answered. However, you can dabble in that methodology when using the slips of paper instead. That way is more akin to stichomancy where you get a general idea or snapshot of the emotion or proverb-like metaphor to your question.
The type of flour can be tailored to help “fine tune” the reading as well- much like a certain flavor or tea or a certain deck of cards. Keep in mind that all types of grains/flours have a baseline association with prosperity and material gain/finances so this method of divination is especially good for those type of questions!
- Acorn: An uncommon one in stores of course, but has deep wildcrafting results if you have the time and patience to grind some yourself. Associated with protection, health, money, healing, potency, fertility, luck, wealth, wisdom, and personal power.
- Almond: creativity, luck, wisdom, spiritual understanding, nostalgia
- Buckwheat: Money, protection, dreams and sleep
- Flaxseed: health, finances, prosperity, beauty, psychic powers
- Oat: family, home, hearth, money
- Potato: protection, banishing, soothing/healing
- Rice: prosperity, career/job, travel, romantic relationships/sex
- Wheat: general prosperity, rebirth/renewal, solar energy
Catoptromancy
From the Greek word katoptron, meaning mirror, this is a form of scrying that specifically uses a mirror rather than flame, water, or crystal ball. However, my version is a bit of a kitchen witch twist on it. We’ll get to that in a moment! The Wikipedia article on it refers to a Greek temple that used this method but it was also practiced in many other countries in history. There’s references to the “true seeing” of Hathor/Het-Hert/ḥwt-ḥr mirrors as well, despite them being mainly for practical purposes. The divination is practiced most commonly by placing a mirror near water, outside in moonlight, or near a candle flame. Then the reader looks into the mirror and interprets the images seen. They can be direct appearance-based (how you look) or seeing other images. The mirror can be a standard one, a painted one, or one made of a more opaque substance like obsidian or metal.
I will say personally, I practice catoptromancy in an “inner eye” scrying way rather than a pattern/tasseography way. That means that I am the conduit and the mirror/surface is to help me get into a trance state and what I “see” will be from my mind’s eye or may likely be added to what little I see on the surface through intuition and that sixth sense. But either method is absolutely fine.
I also don’t use a mirror. I use a well loved, well seasoned cast iron skillet for my catoptromancy, with a lighted candle usually. The glossy surface is mostly black iron but is just mirrored enough from being soaked in fat over the past decades of seasoning that it performs quite well for scrying. And the sentimental value helps it’s power. You may want to select an object in a similar fashion. You can choose an important mirror (the size doesn’t matter) or pick something that is mirror-like. The reflective ability is all that matters.
Get settled down in a comfortable spot without too much light. Get your one light source ready; a candle, the moon, a small table lamp or booklight even. You’ll want to be grounded, centered, and calm and then let yourself “zone out” in order to get into the mindset for scrying. Then examine your own reflection for certain aspects that stand out or look past yourself (or angle the mirror to not be looking right at you) to see other shapes or patterns that you expand upon with your trance state. Keeping a journal for this method is especially important. There’s an emotional and internal reflection aspect that can be helpful to refer back to and examine how things went in your life after certain sessions. It can also pair well with dream magic. What you were seeking might manifest after the trance mirror session in your dreams. This method of divination is especially good for shadow work as well.
Bones, bones bones! Throwing the bones! Examining the bones! Reading the bones! This is a divination method that obviously uses bones in order to determine associations and messages. It was prevalent in so many cultures throughout ancient and more recent history that it’s hard to pin down a single source. However, there are definitely methods that have particular cultural ties and those should be respected when it comes to closed ones. Much like runes or staves, the most common method counts upon both the appearance of the bones themselves as well as their placement in a “casting” (when you gently toss them onto a flat surface). Casting sets also frequently include items that aren’t just bones like small stones, coins, shells, pieces of jewelry, etc.
You can carve, mark, paint or stain the bones in ways that have personal associations to you to help in reading them. You can obtain these bones in any ethical way you are comfortable with. I don’t believe they have to be remains you have processed yourself; though that can add a different spiritual component. You should be considerate in collecting your set though. There is no set number of objects to have (even a single piece can answer yes/no questions) but I don’t recommend starting out of the gate with a pile. You should get comfortable with each piece and determine its associations before moving on to a new one.
Unlike Tarot, they don’t come with set meanings. Though there are sometimes obvious ones: a coin for finances, a seedpod or nut for fertility/prosperity, a sharp tooth for protection, etc. Think about what creature the bone is from, what part of the body, what shape it has when helping determine your personal associations. Treat it like a correspondence for herbs or crystals and that way you can have a more organic “sliding scale” type meaning for when you cast rather than a rigidly detailed one like with Tarot. For example: a meaning like “luck” or “prosperity” is better than “success in work”. It’s also common to have objects touch and then their meanings are joined. In the previous example you could get promotion/raise at work from having a work piece crossing with a prosperity or luck piece.
It is also up to you on what level of ritualized dedication and/or care you would like to give your set. Many people like to do a special dedication ritual to almost “welcome” the item to its new job as a divination tool (my own is what I call “Massaging the Bones”). You can also regularly cleanse and “feed” the casting set (energy that is- not literal food, though you could give it energy from something you’ve cooked in a non-literal way!). I do recommend a special bag or box to keep everything in as well as a soft thicker cloth to cast on. Just so the items don’t get damaged. Be careful in your casting. Practice a lot to know your strength level to throw while still keeping the objects safe. There may be a couple pieces (like baculums or thinner bird bones) that you need to wrap in a square of cloth before storing with the rest of your set for extra protection. This is especially true if you plan to take your set anywhere where it’ll be traveling in a bag or purse.
You can have a ritual circle of string or another material (embroidery hoop!) you lay out to help organize your cast if you like too. This is usually treated one of two ways. Like the face of a clock and items “closer” to certain times are more immediate and further away items around the imaginary numerals are more in the future. Or it’s concentric and the closer to the center of the circle are more important/relevant and then less relevant or immediate as you get closer to the edge. Those that fall outside the circle aren’t relevant to the reading.
This is a divination method you need an large amount of patience for as it is basically creating a tool yourself from scratch, even if you buy the supplies from elsewhere. The framework is laid by you. And just like someone designing a Tarot deck from scratch; be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the room to practice, change, grow, have fallow periods, return, get bored, become fanatic, etc. It’s a process sort of divination that grows like a living thing. This makes it a bittersweet one- rewarding and frustrating but mostly immensely satisfying.
Divination is something that can be tailored to your desires, needs, and supplies. It can be made personal. You can create a whole new type if you like! Use what inspires you, what works for you. Use the marks on toast, the recommendations of Netflix, steam in a bathroom mirror after a shower. The world is your oyster!
This is a divination method you need an large amount of patience for as it is basically creating a tool yourself from scratch, even if you buy the supplies from elsewhere. The framework is laid by you. And just like someone designing a Tarot deck from scratch; be gentle with yourself and allow yourself the room to practice, change, grow, have fallow periods, return, get bored, become fanatic, etc. It’s a process sort of divination that grows like a living thing. This makes it a bittersweet one- rewarding and frustrating but mostly immensely satisfying.
Different lines and formations on the palm are believed to represent different aspects of life, such as love, career, and health. Runes, which are ancient alphabetic symbols, are another tool used in divination. Each rune has its own meaning, and readers can cast them or arrange them in specific patterns to gain insight into a situation or question. Numerology is the belief in the mystical significance of numbers and their influence on human life. By analyzing a person's birthdate or name, numerologists can determine their life path number and offer insights into their personality traits and life events. There are many other methods of divination, such as tea leaf reading, crystal ball scrying, and pendulum dowsing. Each method has its own unique techniques and traditions, but they all share the common goal of tapping into hidden knowledge and providing guidance. **While divination practices may vary, they all seek to provide insight and guidance into the future or hidden aspects of life. Whether through astrology, tarot, palmistry, runes, or other methods, divination can offer a sense of clarity and direction in a complex and uncertain world.**.
Reviews for "Tarot, Runes, and More: An Exploration of Multiple Divination Systems"
1. John - 2 out of 5 stars - I was really disappointed with "Multiple ways of divining". The author claims to provide multiple methods of divination, but most of them were just variations of tarot card reading. I was looking for something more unique and original. Additionally, the instructions were quite confusing, and I struggled to understand how to perform the divination techniques properly. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone seeking a diverse range of divination methods.
2. Sarah - 1 out of 5 stars - I found "Multiple ways of divining" to be a complete waste of time. The book lacked depth and provided only surface-level explanations of different divination practices. It felt as though the author had simply compiled information from other sources without adding anything new or insightful. The lack of illustrations or examples also left me feeling lost and unsure of how to apply the techniques discussed. It's safe to say that this book did not meet my expectations and I would not recommend it to others.
3. Michael - 2 out of 5 stars - I was hoping to expand my knowledge of divination by reading "Multiple ways of divining", but unfortunately, I was left disappointed. The content seemed disorganized and poorly structured, making it difficult to follow the progression of ideas. The explanations of different divination methods were also lacking in detail and didn't provide enough guidance for a beginner like myself. Overall, I found this book to be lacking in substance and would not recommend it to those seeking a comprehensive exploration of divination practices.