We've all read childhood fairy tales where one of the characters uses a crystal ball to predict the future or gazes into a mirror and chants "Mirror, mirror on the wall..."
Although those images are entertaining, what you may not realize is that they are actually forms of divination and are regularly used today to help predict the future and make life changing decisions.
What is Divination?
The art of divination is used to answer question or gain insight into a situation. The word "divination" is derived from the Latin word "divinare" which means "to foresee" and "to be inspired by God."
Divination has existed in various forms for thousands of years. It has been used by different cultures and religions as a way to interpret signs and events or to connect with the supernatural. Ancient Romans used divination to understand the will of the gods. While in ancient Greece, divination was used to predict unusual weather conditions and the likelihood or disease.
Today people turn to divination to gain insight into relationships problems, career changes, travel and finances. Some forms are also used to help develop and enhance intuition.
What are the Different Types of Divination?
Psychologist Julian Jaynes classified divination according to four types:
- Omens - Known as the earliest and most basic form of divination, omens consist of recording sequences of significant or unusual events. Examples would be tracking strange births or natural phenomena and using that information to forecast future occurrences.
- Sortilege - Originating in ancient Rome, lots of sticks, stones, bones, beans or coins were cast and their groupings were interpreted to predict a particular outcome or event. Modern playing cards and board games evolved form this type of divination.
- Augury - Augury is an process which observes and records patterns in the behavior of animals and birds. A person trained in augury may study a bird's pecking, flight or song habits and make predictions based on repetitive behavior.
- Spontaneous - An unrestrained form of divination which allows the diviner to use any objects he or he chooses to foresee future events, predict illness or answer questions. Common methods of spontaneous divination are bibliomacy, Feng Shui, and reading auras or tea leaves. Other unusual and lesser known forms are gastromancy, which interprets noises originating from your stomach, and omphalomancy, which uses the size and shape of your belly button to interpret your personality and predict your fate.
In recent years the increasing popularity of divination has resulted in the production of many unique divination tools. Some of the most well-known are crystals, tarot cards, pendulums, rune stones and dowsing sticks.
If you'd like to experiment with diviination, chose one or a few methods which appeal to you and practice its technique until you get consistent and accurate results.
Readers who enjoyed this article may also like Tarot Cards: History, Definition and Uses and Using Psychometry to Develop Your Psychic Skills.
Sources:
- Sarah Ile Johnston, Ancient Greek Divination, Wiley-Blackwell, September 2008.
- Jacqueline Towers, Simply Tea Leaf Reading, Sterling/Zambezi, May 2008.
- Sig Lonegren, Spiritual Dowsing: Tools for Exploring the Intangible Realism, Gothic Image Publications, September 2007.
- Erwin E. Stark, A History of Dowsing and Energy Relationships, BAC, 1978.
Danielle McGinnis - Danielle McGinnis is the mother of a college freshman and full-time freelance writer.
