The air is thick with summer heat and the moon approaches fullness. Tonight a lightning storm casts a glow upon the grassy hills of the East coast, and the scene is perfect to talk about divination.
What is divination?
Divination is the practice of gaining insight about a particular situation or status of the world through an occult ritual.
For centuries people have been predicting the future. Not just of their friends and families, but the state of the world we are living in. People predict events based on signs and omens, watching for patterns, or more dramatically, the crystal balls and tea-leaf readings we see in TV and literature.
But how popular is any of that stuff really? The truth is, to some degree, many more people attempt to predict the future than we think. Though everyone may not be practicing rituals and dancing to determine what will happen, it is very popular to follow the "signs" that are presented to you.
People believe in superstition and omens, that's why it feels unlucky to see a black cat, especially on an important day, or why some people do certain mini rituals for extra luck. Divination occurs on a spectrum, but any type of practicing ritual in order to predict or sway the future may fit under the same umbrella term.
How did divination come to exist?
Divination has been around for a very long time, but not necessarily always called that or always described as the same thing. The most ancient form of divination is likely numerology which dates back to 500 BC Ancient Greece. The basis of this type of divination comes from Pythagoras's theories about the relationship between numbers and music notes, and numerology was used to assign numbers to people to assist in interpreting their personality, life, and future.
The basic practice of assigning meaning to signs or symbols and using them as a tool to attempt to peer forward into the future is the exact principle of divination, but let's talk about some other forms.
Clairvoyance
Another old and ancient one, clairvoyance is the nature of the clairvoyant, or those who can sense the future. Clairvoyants are said to posses the power to peer into the future and lay it out for you if they so please. Many cultures' histories have seen the worship and reverence of the presumed clairvoyant, so even if it isn't your cup of tea it has its place in history.
Tarot Reading
One of the more popular forms of divination, tarot reading is the act of using tarot cards to tell a story which can be interpreted to explain the past, present, and future. Tarot is popular today and you can often find signs illuminating tarot readers in big cities both here in the US and in other countries.
Palmistry
Palmistry is another form of divination that is pretty popular now, and if you aren't swinging by your local tarot reader, you may be stopping to get your palm read, but don't be fooled, this method of predicting patterns has been around since the ancient times. Palmistry is said to have originated in India over 5000 years ago and then spread to other countries around the world.
During palmistry readings, the reader will take the hand of the person whose future is under discussion and examine the lines on their palm to determine the future and aspects of their personality that may be affecting their current situation. Each hand represents different aspects of our lives and personalities, or so they say.
Most methods of divination are connected in theory to the occult, but there are mini practices we can adopt into our own lives to set the ritual and make our attempts at predicting the future.
How Can I Adopt Mild and Modern Divination into my Every Day Life?
There are some little things you can add to your day to incorporate feelings of mystic magic and attempt to predict your own future.
1. Reading tea leaves
After you enjoy a warm cup of hot tea made from loose leaf herbs and flowers, allow the petals to settle in your cup for a few minutes and turn the cup upside down. When you revert it right side up, there is said to be symbols present among your leaves that you may read to find out about your current situation and gain some perspective on how to proceed. Look for things like sun, moon, animals, faces, and other familiar symbols and think about what it could mean or be urging you to do.
2. Grab your own tarot deck.
Step 1: own a tarot deck. Step 2: Turn it into an introspective ritual. Light some incense, meditate, shuffle, and then draw some cards to form a spread about your past, present, and future. So many tools exist to guide you in the art of using tarot cards to bring perspective to your life. You can even ask specific questions to gain some clarity, such as "What should I focus on today?" or "How is my relationship developing?" Of course you should always take these things with a grain of salt, but at the very least it forces you to do some thinking and that often leads to some realizations.
3. Interpret signs.
Ask the universe questions, and the universe may answer. Put your questions and concerns into the world and you may be surprised by the blatantness of the replies.
Whether you believe in divination or not, it is fun to think about and interesting to explore so mull it over and try to glance into the vastness of the future.
