Divination is the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or hidden information through supernatural means. It has been practiced for centuries by various cultures and civilizations around the world. There are numerous forms of divination, each with its own unique methods and tools. One of the most popular forms of divination is astrology. Astrology is based on the belief that the positions and movements of celestial bodies can provide information about a person's character traits and events in their life. Astrologers analyze birth charts and horoscopes to make predictions about the future.
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.
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. An intermediate class, interpretive divination, allows a less rigid classification, since many divinatory disciplines do not rely strongly either upon inductive rigour or upon trance and possession.
Astrologers analyze birth charts and horoscopes to make predictions about the future. Tarot reading is another widely practiced form of divination. Tarot cards are used as a tool to gain insights into a person's past, present, and future.
Forms of divination
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!
Have you ever met someone who knows when something is going to happen before it does? Perhaps you’re one of these people. Precognition gives glimpses at what might happen in the future. These glimpses come across as impressions or may show up in the form of dreams or flashes of intuition out of nowhere. Pay attention to your thoughts when something seems to show up in the back of your mind “out of the blue.” It might just be a precognitive hit.
Each card in the deck has a specific meaning, and the reader interprets the cards based on their placement and the question being asked. Palmistry is the art of reading the lines and markings on a person's palms. It is believed that the lines on the palm can reveal information about a person's personality, life events, and potential future outcomes. Palm readers analyze the shape and size of various lines, as well as the mounts and markings on the palm, to make interpretations. Numerology is a divination practice that involves assigning meaning to numbers. It is believed that numbers have inherent vibrations and can reveal information about a person's character traits and life events. Numerologists use calculations based on a person's birthdate and name to make predictions and provide guidance. Another form of divination is scrying, which involves looking into a reflective or translucent surface to gain insights or visions. The most well-known method of scrying is crystal gazing, in which a person gazes into a crystal ball or other reflective object to receive messages from the divine. Other forms of divination include using pendulums, tea leaves, runes, oracles, or even casting lots. Each method has its own unique rituals and interpretations. It is important to note that divination should be used as a tool for self-reflection and guidance, rather than as a definitive answer or prediction of the future..
Reviews for "Mediumship: Connecting with Spirits for Divination"
1. Jane - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Forms of divination". The writing style was convoluted and hard to follow, and the author seemed to jump from one topic to another without any clear direction. Additionally, I found the content to be overly repetitive. It felt like the author was just rehashing the same ideas over and over again. Overall, I found the book to be frustrating and not worth the time.
2. Tom - 1 star - I couldn't even finish "Forms of divination". The author's writing style was incredibly dry and boring, making it difficult to engage with the material. I also found the content to be quite shallow. The book lacked any real depth or insight into the subject matter, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. I would not recommend this book to anyone interested in divination.
3. Sarah - 2 stars - "Forms of divination" was not what I expected at all. The book claimed to provide a comprehensive exploration of divination practices, but instead, it only scratched the surface of each form without going into any real detail. I was left with more questions than answers and felt like I needed to turn to other sources for a deeper understanding. It's definitely not a book I would recommend to someone looking to learn about divination.