When you think of divination, what springs to mind? Is it tarot cards, pendulums, or maybe crystal balls? Do you think of palm readers in old caravans? Or ladies in flowing silk reading the tea leaves at the bottom of your cup?
See, most of us have heard of divination, but… what is it exactly?
Divination is the practice of using an object (or objects) to gain insight into past, present, and future information. It is the harnessing of energy to draw out answers.
Divination itself has deep and ancient roots. Most of us today like to think of it as an exclusively “witchy” tool, but you can find records of divination practices dating back to as early as 3000 BC! From the great seers of Ancient Egypt to the oracles of Ancient Greece to even the holiday traditions of Pagans in the Middle Ages, divination is an ancient collection of practices with a widespread history. It has never belonged to just one people in one time.
Going beyond tarot cards and tea leaves, divination has employed nearly every object and circumstance available to those who have sought it. Everything from apples to bones to even the pages of the oldest books have been used as divination tools.
Cultivating Your Divination Practice:
As we inch toward Ostara, fresh from Imbolc, its a time of new beginnings. what better time to take up a divination practice of your own!
But, what method should you choose? When there are so many to choose from (we’re talking into the hundreds), where does one even begin?
Below, you’ll find a list of the top 10 most popular methods of divination to get you started in a practice of your own.
By far the most popular and well-known method, tarot is the practice of using symbolled cards, laid out in spreads, to divine an answer. This method might seem intimidating to those not as familiar with the practice, but it’s really one of the simplest divination tools to use. Most modern decks nowadays come with a guidebook for the cards, making the practice much easier to pick up.
Runes are a series of symbols carved onto small objects (typically stone, wood, or bone), which are then drawn from a bag or tossed onto the ground, to divine an answer. Folklore says that it was Odin himself who gifted the Nordic people with the runes, imbuing a sacred power onto these symbols and their meanings.
- Pendulum:
A pendulum is a weighted object attached to the end of a chain. A simple-looking tool, but very powerful, especially when one is seeking out answers from their own subconscious. To use a pendulum, you hold the top of the pendulum chain in one hand, letting the weighted end hang below. The chain will then respond to any questions you ask of it, swinging one way for yes and another for no.
- Scrying Mirror:
When a fortune-teller is reading your future inside the depths of a crystal ball, they’re doing something known as “scrying”. Scrying is the act of looking into a surface (typically reflective like a bowl of water, a glass or crystal ball, or a blackened scrying mirror) and allowing images to flow through its reflection. This is considered one of the trickiest methods of divination to learn, as it requires a lot of practice for those who are not naturally clairvoyant.
- Dowsing Rod:
Unlike the other methods we’ve introduced, dowsing rods are better-suited for finding lost objects than receiving insight into the future or any present events. Dowsing rods are typically “L” or “Y” shaped rods that the user holds in their hands, allowing the rod to the guide them towards the lost object or place. Historically, dowsing rods have been used to find lost gravesites, water wells, gemstones, and gold deposits. In modern times, dowsing rods are an excellent tool to help you find those lost keys!
- Tea Leaves:
A classic fortune-telling tool, tea leaf reading is the art of divining the pattern the leaves make after finishing your cup tea. There are many guidebooks that will give you insight into the different patterns and shapes the leaves can make, but it’s said that it’s best to intuit the meanings for yourself.
- Ogham:
A Celtic twist on the Nordic runes! Ogham is an early medieval alphabet of the old Irish tongue, typically carved onto tiny twigs, called “staves”. These staves are then used just as one would runes, typically drawing them from a bag or tossed onto the ground to divine their meaning.
- Bibliomancy:
The art of divining information from books! Bibliomancy can be used with any book anywhere, although many tend to use more sacred and holy texts. How it works, is you ask a question out loud, then flip to the page that’s calling to you for the answer. For a more specific result, use your finger; wherever your finger lands on the page, is where your answer’s to be found.
- Lithomancy:
The art of divining information from stones! Lithomancy is the act of casting stones and interpreting the meaning of their arrangement. Many modern lithomancy sets will give each stone a different meaning, making the casting experience much easier to interpret. As with all forms of divination though, your intuition will serve as the best interpreter.
- I Ching:
Dating all the way back to 2700 BC, China, I Ching coins are one of the oldest known methods of divination. The coins, much like the runes and ogham, are each given an individual meaning, and are then tossed to divine an answer. Although, unlike the runes and ogham, the I Ching typically requites a more precise practice, with various tossing methods used to achieve different results.
There are hundreds of more methods of divination—each carrying their own personality, use, and history. Cultivating a divination practice is a great way of getting in-touch with your intuition and developing a relationship with the magic of the method itself.
Whether you’re looking to find out more about your future, the secrets of the past, or you just want to develop a stronger relationship with yourself and Spirit, divination is a powerful tool to use.
Like with anything, be sure to research your options well and treat these methods with respect.
