Common Methods of Divination

Divination is, strictly speaking, a way to gain insight into the future, or into the spiritual nature of a situation, by means of a ritual or magical item. Many items are imbued with the power to foresee the future due to their unique energetic and spiritual construction. These items can be manmade, such as a pack of cards, or natural, such as stones and sticks on the ground. And the success of each method of divination can vary as well; many types of divination, such as Tarot cards and astrological readings, have highly accurate results, while others may be less so.

Tarot cards, by far, are the most common means of divination. Due to their historical precedent and proven accuracy, Tarot cards are the tool of choice by most magical adepts. Psychic readings, although even more prolific than Tarot cards, should not be counted as a means of divination as there is no magical medium, meaning there is no specific magical tool, that would serve to help develop predictions.

Yet another common divination method is that of astrology. There are many successful and varied ways to gain information from the signs and portents that appear in the stars above us. Horoscopes are a crude, but common, example. And although generally accurate, horoscopes don’t begin to compare to the more advanced mathematical astrological analyses made by professional astrologers. Astrology is a very detailed and time consuming process to gain cosmic insight, but if you are looking for very specific and accurate facts it is often the way to go.

The I Ching, a Chinese divination method, is one of the oldest and has traditionally been practiced throughout the Asian world. Only recently has it become common in the Western hemisphere. Nonetheless, the I Ching is a very powerful divination tool that can bring insight in a number of life areas. The I Ching falls into a branch of divination called geomancy, as it uses the numerical arrangements of patterns and items thrown apparently at random to determine future events and gain insight into our lives. However, as we know nothing is truly random; we are all connected, thus the seemingly random patterns can be interpreted with the correct magical insight.

Scrying is a method of divination that is very popular among occultists; it relies upon the individual’s magical skill with the Astral Plane as well as the use of a scrying device. Scrying mirrors, waters, and crystal balls are all examples of scrying devices. Although many have not heard of scrying, the most famous scryer in history, Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, used a bowl of water tinted with ink to gain insight into future events that would occur hundreds of years later. Even today, the study of Nostrdamus’ prophecies retains a large number of students.

A talking board, more commonly known from Parker Brothers’ trademarked Ouija board, is also a frequently used method of divination. Many warnings and horror stories are associated with Ouija boards, but talking boards as methods of divination certainly predate the Ouija variation. These boards use the ritual summoning of spiritual beings in order to provide answers. This is a particularly tricky method of divination, as when you are consulting a spiritual being it is uncertain if they are telling you the truth or not. Spirits, just like their living counterparts, do lie on occasion! For this reason, I typically do not engage in the use of talking boards or offer divination via talking board as a service to my clients.

A final form of divination that is also extremely common around the world, but is not practiced by myself, is extispicy, or the reading of animal entrails. As animal sacrifice is still very prolific in many magical and religious traditions, this involves reading the entrails of the animals after they are sacrificed. Similarly to how patterns are read in how I Ching sticks lay, patterns are read in the way the organs lay. This is actually a very effective method of divination, which explains why it is prevalent in cultures around the world, but it is also very messy and raises the ethical issue of taking a life.