Divination (from Latin divinare “to foresee, to be inspired by a god,” related to divinus, divine) is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of a magical process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a querent should proceed by reading signs, events, omens and through contact with a higher agency.”
From long ago, when the Ancients whispered, running deep in our blood as humans, we have searched in the patterns of our world for answers to the mysteries of our lives and the universe. Some say the roots of such practices, known broadly as Divination, live in India, Ancient Greece, China and Egypt. Others say such roots were interlocked everywhere, beyond the concepts of time, race and colour, and cannot be claimed by any one civilisation.
To me, Divination is our way of connecting to our ancient-most union with the universe, to the echoes unsung, to the sound of the wind through tall bold Oak Trees, to the magic of Crows cawing and through the tenderness of mirror like reflections.
The different lineages, including those of Africa, China, Tibet, the Inuit, and the Americas, with their own precious practices, are simply different methods of understanding and illuminating the language of our world as it speaks to us.
The Ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese and Romans relied heavily on the guidance of Oracles to assist in prophesying and interpreting omens and in foreseeing the future. The Diviner stood in the service of the State and was officially consulted on agricultural matters and before wars or when other great enterprises were undertaken. Only in more modern times were such counsels banned from the majority of cultures.
There is also evidence that Prophetic Dreams and Oracular utterances have played an important part in ancient religion and medicine. Emphasised were the benefits of using divination to assist us medically. Such practices were very encouraged and helpful to the Ancients, and at one time there was a very active link between Diviners and physicians. In fact, many Diviners of the ancients were Witch Doctors and could use the information channeled to assist the querent’s healing process. It wasn’t abnormal to ask a Diviner to provide medical assistance.
In the late 18th Century, a revival of interest in our universally magical heritage took place, and now we can quite easily find beings who appreciate the practice of divination. What is harder to find are authentic lineages and practitioners, whose practice is empowered by others through oral or energetic transmissions, who commit to such work at a high level of practice, and from the highest, most sincere motivation.
When we request a divination, we should have a wish to know, a wish to go deeper, and an understanding that a divination often serves only to clarify what we already know and feel on some deeper level. The openness connected to the act of receiving a divination plays a very big role in the accuracy and result of the exchange; however, from ancient times until now, receiving such support was and is taken as guidance only. We still must rely on ourselves in doing what we sense is best. With aspirations, we all can learn to work with our inner space and learn from its ever-flowing wish to communicate with us.
There are many thousands of methods to Divine and some that I am fond of are:
Agalmatomancy, Astrology, Ceromancy, Chartomancy, Taromancy, Palmistry, Aeromancy, Crystalomancy, Oneiromancy, Anthroposcopy, Apantomancy, Stichomancy and Tasseography.