The Most Common Forms of Divination

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An Open Mind and Common Sense - by Casper

The practice of 'seeing into the future' and determining human fate and fortune is an ancient one. It involves diverse traditions from many varied cultures - and these practices have undergone many rebirths and permutations over the years. The most common forms of divination seemed to have stood the tests of time, ridicule, modern sciences and personal preference!

The most common practices are listed below - yet with any method of divination, it seems best to approach it with an open mind, but also with common sense. The methods described below, are often the "tools" used by Clairvoyants to augment, widen or manifest their perceptions. They are not only fun, but can provide interesting insights into personality, situations, and potentials - but it is, in my opinion, unhealthy to allow them to dominate one's life!

Astrology - a complex subject, one that its' practitioners would describe as a science. It bears very little resemblance to the horoscopes that are printed in the daily Newspapers and magazines, and even less to the computer generated astrological text services!

For a true and accurate divination using Astrology, consult a professional Astrologer, who will need your date of birth, place of birth and time of birth.

Tarot - another complex subject, with many practitioners, and few true seers! Almost everyone who consults this form of divination wants to know about potential futures, interactions with loved ones, and ways in which to deal with problems and dilemmas. The Tarot persuade not only the Client, but Consultant too, to look deeper and more carefully at every aspect of a given situation.

The Tarot has a multi-dimensional quality, where one can deal with the apparent mundane, material concerns, as well as the not-so-apparent spiritual aspects - and all that exists in between. A true 'Seer' is able to synthesize this information and guide the Client towards success.

Runes - an Oracular system of divination and magic! The Runes are simple, earthy symbols rooted in the natural world and as such can be touched and related to by anyone who is willing to ally themselves with them. They can be viewed, like any other ideograph, like a frozen symbol of an actual state or concept. They stimulate the imagination and help us to understand and perceive our relationship to others and to the world; thereby allowing us to cause change.

A true Rune Master is very hard to find, and I wish you luck in your search for one!

I Ching - one of the oldest forms of divination still in existence. The I Ching is not the work of an individual but the collective wisdom of generations spanning 3000 years. It is founded on the examination of nature and humanity, and stands for the schematic, rhythmic and purposeful cosmos. 'Change not the eternal,' is the central theme, and time is identified as a vital factor in the composition of the world and the evolvement of the individual.

This system works from the premise that change is not random, and that each manifestation of existence can only transmute into something already inherent in its own nature and not into anything entirely different. This system of divination also maintains that change follows in a cyclic motion, to the ancient Chinese even death conveyed movement returning to its source, being the opposite of life, death implied the eventual return to a previous state.

The I Ching affirms that by revealing to the conscious mind what is concealed in the subconscious mind, it is possible to predict the probable future and to choose a direction accordingly, therefore we can become the masters of our own destiny and not its slaves.

Palmistry - reading palms like interpreting the cards or casting a horoscope is one of the ancient methods of divination that has survived and is as popular today as it ever was.

Palmistry however differs from other methods of divination in that it is completely personal as no two hands, like no two fingerprints, are identical.

There are two sides of palmistry, chirosophy which deals with the lines on the hand and chirognomy in which the shape of the hand and fingers are analysed. Both are closely connected, with Astrology and the different areas of the hands and fingers are associated with the planets.

Crystallomancy, Crystal Ball or Scrying - Scrying means seeing magical images in a reflective medium, such as a crystal ball. What you see can shed light on the present and guide future action. The word 'scry' comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'descry', which means to see.

Scrying in shiny surfaces has been practised in every culture and time, not only by mystics and magicians, but every girl who has gazed into a mirror and performed rituals to see her lover's face, or by any man who has sought wisdom in moonlit water.

Crystallomancy differs from other forms of scrying such as tea leaves, because the images are not formed by the medium itself, but from within your psyche.

People sometimes feel that they cannot use a crystal ball or a mirror successfully because there are no concrete images on which to work. For this reason, Scryers can become anxious and actually block the natural and very vivid images cast on to the glass by the mind's eye.

Numerology - The theory that, a name is more than just a label but the essence of, the person who bears it, is an idea stretching back throughout the years. It is on this theory coupled with the belief that numbers are a store house of magic power that the practice of divination by numbers is based.

Originally each letter of the Greek and Hebrew alpha­bets also stood for a number and therefore each word represented a number when its letters were added together. In this way a person's name could be reduced to a number and they would bear the characteristics associated with it.

Each of the planets also has its individual number and consequently the person who also bears that number is influenced by them.

A person's date of birth can also be used in the same way, and when coupled with their 'name' number can foretell of things to come for a particular year in their life. There are many good books and Computer programs for Numerology, but yet again, I would advise that you seek out a Professional Numerologist and book a Consultation.

Article added: December 12, 2006

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