The Ultimate Guide to Divination

By Liz Dean

A must-have guide chock-full of time-honored methods for developing your intuition, accessing the unconscious, and parting the veils between the realms.

Connect with your intuitive wisdom by exploring the key divination tools and techniques used throughout the ages: crystal casting and pendulums; runes; teacup, coffee cup, and salt readings; palmistry; playing cards and tarot cards; numerology; dice reading; crystal ball gazing; and more.

The Ultimate Guide to Divination presents to you the oracles of the ancients in a colorful, modern, and easy-to-use format. Step-by-step illustrations and color photos guide you through the methods, and helpful tables and reference charts show you how to understand and decipher common psychic symbols. Just a few of the valuable divinatory references within:

• A directory of crystals used in divination, each paired with a color photo of the stone and a guide to its interpretation
• A glossary of psychic symbols for tea, coffee, and salt readings
• An illustrated guide to the meanings of hand and fingertip shapes, along with interpretations for each mount of the hand
• A complete review of the major and minor arcana cards of the tarot, including layouts for various spreads
• Numerology charts and keys for compatibility, auspicious numbers for occasions, and the meanings of your house and phone numbers

There is an oracle for every purpose and question. The Ultimate Guide to Divination is the essential handbook to the mystic arts.

Filled with beautiful illustrations and designed to give easy access to the information you’re looking for, each of the references in the Ultimate Guide to . . . series provides simple-to-follow expert guidance as you learn and master your practice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781631596452

Book preview

The Ultimate Guide to Divination: The Beginner’s Guide to Using Cards, Crystals, Runes, Palmistry, and More for Insight and Predicting the FutureThe Ultimate Guide to Divination: The Beginner’s Guide to Using Cards, Crystals, Runes, Palmistry, and More for Insight and Predicting the Future

What you seek is seeking you.

—Rumi

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCING DIVINATION

2 ORACLES OF THE ANCIENTS

CRYSTAL, STONE, AND WOOD

3 READING THE TRACES

TEA, COFFEE, AND SALT

4 PALMISTRY

READING THE LINES

5 FORTUNE-TELLING WITH CARDS

PLAYING CARDS AND TAROT

6 NUMEROLOGY

THE ART OF NUMBER INTERPRETATION

7 THE MYSTIC GAZE

SCRYING WITH CRYSTAL, WATER, AND MIRRORS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INDEX

1

INTRODUCING DIVINATION

If you have this book in your hands, you are answering a call to connect with your intuitive wisdom; it’s time to explore, find, or reconnect with a divinatory art that resonates with you. This book presents the key tools and techniques for divination: crystal casting and pendulums; runes; teacup, coffee cup, and salt readings; palmistry; playing cards and tarot cards; numerology; dice reading; and crystal ball gazing. These art forms gave our ancestors answers, and they will give you, too, special insights into the past, present, and future.

While it’s impossible to cover each one in depth here, I hope that you are inspired to try new practices and gain new insights into those with which you are familiar.

HOW DIVINATION WORKS

Divination, from the Latin divinare (to foresee), is to connect with the divine; it’s a ritual means of accessing hidden knowledge. The divine can be thought of both as an external intelligence (the Universe, Source, God, angels, or beings in spirit) and as the divinity within each of us—our innate wisdom, or inner knowing. We are all connected; divination potentially puts us in touch with collective wisdom—what Carl Jung called the collective unconscious.

Divination gives us a set of rituals through which we shift from logic to intuition, ways to tune in to this unconscious wisdom to help us find the answers we seek. When we are laying out cards, making a pot of tea, or adding up numbers for a numerology reading, the logical left brain is distracted with a task; it’s believed that this distraction allows us to connect more deeply with the intuitive right brain. With the left brain not intercepting or judging our intuitive, sensory messages, we begin to experience a different kind of knowing, a new quality of awareness. We shift into intuition, or reading mode, through which we experience our own truth.

A NOTE ABOUT THE FUTURE

If you are dipping into divination for the first time, it’s important to understand what is meant by future or outcome. This is the most likely outcome given present circumstances—which change constantly. A reading suggests the potential future at the time of the reading; the future is not fixed. We have free will, and as we change, so can the future.

HOW DIVINATION CAN BENEFIT YOU

Divination tools can offer you much more than an answer to a question. Although a question is where we all begin, working regularly with your crystals, cards, runes, or teacups offers a more precious gift: time with yourself to explore in detail any aspect of your life path. This leads to greater self-awareness, empowerment, and purpose. You’ll become more sensitive to your own and others’ needs, and you’ll be more attuned to the energies around you—physically and spiritually. Divination also supports creativity, as you look at options, try on new scenarios, and see new pathways.

Practice divination regularly, and you can gain more self-trust, seeing the value in your ideas and insights. It’s helpful to keep a divination diary, if you can; take notes after your readings, add the date, and reflect on them in the future.

ASKING QUESTIONS FOR DIVINATION

Before you begin with any divination technique, formulate your question. If the question is right, the answer is more likely to make sense to you. In my work as a tarot teacher and reader, I help people formulate questions that really reflect their situations. The most common request is, Will he or she come back? My response is, Is this really the question? Most people already know the answer. What they’re really seeking is confirmation, and confirmation requires a yes-no response. In divination, it’s best to avoid these closed questions (unless you do want a yes-or-no answer and if so, try working with a pendulum; see here). They set a limit on a reading, narrowing it to one answer rather than exploring the myriad possibilities a good reading can offer. Instead, the questioner might ask, What can make me happy? or What do I need to know now? The answer to their original question will usually arise within the scope of a much broader, more rewarding reading.

2

ORACLES OF THE ANCIENTS

CRYSTAL, STONE, AND WOOD

To foretell the future, our ancestors turned to the natural resources of their environments—harvesting small stones and crystals from the earth or carving runic symbols on stone and wood. They sought counsel on whether they would survive battle, illness, or a dangerous voyage or if their herd or a marriage would bring prosperity. From them, we have inherited some of the simplest yet most powerful techniques for divination. In this chapter, you’ll see how to divine with crystals, cast runes, and use a pendulum.

DIVINATION WITH CRYSTALS

Divining with stones was practiced at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the famous oracle site built around the seventh century BCE. The Homeric Hymns, a collection of poems to Greek deities dating from the same era, refers to the Thriae, three-winged sisters credited with inventing fortune-telling by means of little stones: mantic, or prophecy, stones placed on a dish would move in answer to a question.

On Tsaghkahovit Plain in central Armenia, researchers discovered a three-thousand-year-old settlement—and evidence of divination by lithomancy (the use of bones and stones). One shrine included eighteen pebbles that appear to have been used for divination. The researchers also unearthed other divination tools: marked animal knuckle bones and dough stamped with symbols. Although it had lasted for around one hundred years, the settlement had been suddenly abandoned, leaving researchers wondering if the diviners had predicted the likely end of their own lives if they had stayed.

Today, the shamans of Tuva in southern Siberia still follow the tradition of fortune-telling with stones. Each divination stone is collected from a different river and is believed to hold the river’s wisdom. This suggests that the provenance of the stones and crystals we use for divination is important.

When you intentionally seek stones, you are setting the intention for powerful and helpful divination. Some crystals, however, find you. You might come across a stone on a walk, be given a crystal by someone important to you, or be drawn to a crystal in a shop. Each crystal makes a journey toward you.

PREPARING FOR A CRYSTAL READING

In a reading, we interpret a group of chosen crystals that fall randomly or are placed in a layout. Interpreting the random fall of crystals is known as stone-casting.

You will need a selection of crystals and a reading mat. Professional crystal readers may have around forty or fifty small crystals from which nine or ten are chosen for a reading. The crystals listed in this book include many that are commonly used in healing and divination, but this list isn’t exclusive; collect and use crystals that you feel a connection with. Keep your crystals wrapped in fabric, such as silk, in a soft bag or purse to protect them physically and energetically when they are not being used.

You can make a mat on which to cast, or gently throw, your crystals by folding a cloth or scarf into an approximate square. Make sure that it is thick enough to protect the crystals when they fall and release them gently, not too high over the mat, to ensure that any more fragile pieces do not become damaged (some crystals, such as selenite, can flake or break easily). The mat is an important part of the reading because we interpret the positions of the stones on (and off) it, so it is worthwhile to create one that reflects the special ritual of casting stones. For example, you might choose material of a color that helps you feel calm and self-connected, such as blue or purple, rather than a color that shouts for attention.

If you do not have many crystals in your collection, you can use a pendulum over the crystal directory (see here) to get a divinatory message right now.

CRYSTAL CLEANSING

Cleansing crystals removes any energies they may have picked up on their journey to you. Use one of the following methods:

• Cleanse with water. Soak your crystals in a bowl of spring water for twenty-four hours for deep cleansing or hold them under a running tap for a few minutes, setting the intention that any negative imprints on them will be washed away. Some crystals are water soluble and/or affected by water, so don’t use this method on selenite, halite malachite, gypsum, pyrite, optical calcite, or turquoise.

• Use sunlight or moonlight. Place your crystals outside in the sunlight for a few hours, or under the moonlight for a few hours or overnight. Some crystals are photosensitive, so don’t use sunlight for amethyst, fluorite, rose quartz, or some calcites. And don’t use sunlight for crystal balls, as this is a fire hazard.

• Try incense or smudging. Waft the smoke from a smudge stick or incense stick over your crystals, extinguishing it after use.

• Play singing bowls or ring bells. Place your crystals in a singing bowl and ring the outer or inner edge with the bowl’s mallet to build up the sound, gradually increasing the speed. Or ring a bell in the same room as your crystals; the sound waves will shift any stagnation in the crystals.

• Use your breath. It’s a go-to cleansing method when the above aren’t practical: simply set your intention for the crystal and gently breathe on its surfaces.

• Do a white-light visualization. Visualize the crystal being purified by white light that comes first through you, then into the crystal. See any old, negative energy leave the crystal and disappear. You can combine this visualization with the breath method.

• Use a crystal cleanser spray. Use one that’s specially formulated to cleanse crystals.

ATTUNING TO YOUR CRYSTALS

Hold each crystal in turn. Close your eyes and tune in to its vibration. You will find that you get a warmth and/or tingly feeling as you and your crystal connect energetically. Some people find that their crystal feels freezing cold. If you do not sense a physical change, which indicates a connection with the crystal, or an inner knowing that you are bonding, it’s likely that the crystal is not right for you; set it aside. It may need further cleansing, or it may be best passed on to someone with whom it connects.

SETTING YOUR INTENTION

After cleansing and attuning your crystal, the next step is to set your intention. Hold each crystal in turn and say, I work with this crystal for my highest good and that of others. This intention-setting programs your crystals for the positive work ahead.

CASTING THE STONES: TECHNIQUES

Here’s how to cast the stones for a reading, whether you are reading for yourself or for another person:

• Choose a selection of crystals, place them in a small bowl, and tip them onto your mat. If you are reading for another person, ask her to choose the stones from your collection, place them in the bowl, and tip it onto the mat as she focuses on what she would like to know.

• Rather than use a bowl, shake—or have the questioner shake—the crystals with both hands and release them onto the mat, asking a question or for insight into a situation.

• For a past, present, future reading (see here), which doesn’t interpret how the crystals fall, place your crystals in a purse or bag. Put your hand in the bag and, without looking, withdraw three or one at a time.

COUNTING THE RIPPLES: LECANOMANCY

Lecanomancy, meaning dish and divination, is a form of hydromancy (see here). A meaning is assigned to the number of ripples around a stone dropped in water. Ask a yes-or-no question, gently drop one small crystal into a bowl of water, and immediately count the ripples. An odd number of ripples is a yes, and an even number means no.

A SIMPLE YES-NO READING: THREE CRYSTALS

If you have a question that needs a straight answer, choose a black stone, a white stone, and another stone from your collection. Designate the black and white stones as yes and no; the black stone could mean yes and the white stone no or vice versa. The other stone you choose will be the deciding stone—its position in relation to the yes and no stones gives you your answer.

Palm the three stones and then cup both hands together and shake them, thinking of your question.

When you are ready, release the stones onto the mat. Where is the deciding stone? If it is closer to your yes stone, the answer to your question is yes. If it’s closer to the no stone, the answer is no. If it is equidistant between yes and no, start again, casting the stones a maximum of three times. If after three tries you cannot obtain an answer, stop and try again another day; the answer is not yet known.

CRYSTAL INSIGHTS: NINE OR TEN STONES

This reading helps you see the most important issues and decisions around you now. It’s not a straight predictive reading; its purpose is to help you see what needs to be done and how best to proceed. You can use nine or ten stones from your collection. Nine is the number of spirituality and intuition. As the last single-digit number before ten, it is also known as the number of culmination—the buildup before a resolution. Some crystal readers choose ten crystals, as ten represents wholeness; ten crystals tell a whole story. Alternatively, you can choose another number that intuitively feels right.

When you are ready, hold your question or inquiry in your mind. You might ask:

• What should I be focusing on now?

• How do I deal with (this) situation?

• What do I need to know?

Place your crystals into a small bowl or shake them in your cupped hands. Release them onto the mat. Interpret where they fall:

• The crystals closest to you, at the front of the mat, show what is at the forefront of your mind: the key issues that need addressing.

• Crystals in the center represent advice from the stones on how to address these concerns.

• Those farthest away from you show what is hidden or distant and may come into play in the future.

• Crystals that land off the mat are disregarded.

• Crystals that are partly on or off the mat are read as events that are coming your way but are not important yet.

Look up the interpretations of each crystal and/or hold each one in turn and see what you pick up intuitively. You might sense a crystal’s meaning or its healing potential; you may sense colors or connect with particular memories. Crystals can be conduits to deep insights and past-life experiences. Be open to how your crystals communicate with you. Note your impressions.

You will also see that your crystals have formed little groups. Interpret them by what they have in common. For example, moonstone and lapis lazuli traditionally suggest a strong focus on spirituality, intuition, and dreams, so the pair shows the need to be guided by what is otherworldly or subconscious; there might be a message in a dream or a need to listen carefully to intuitive guidance. If peridot and selenite fall close together, you might take it that peridot means disappointment rather than talent because selenite tells us that we need to make changes to create more stability. The two stones together might tell a story of expectations not being met—and a need to make changes and move on. If these stones were at the front of the mat, this is a key issue that needs attention now. As with single stones, you might like to hold groups of crystals and feel if there is a strong, common message or sensation that links them.

CRYSTAL INSIGHTS: A QUICK READING

Cast your nine or ten stones onto the mat, but only interpret the three that fall closest to you (take the others off the mat).

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

This simple reading helps you frame an event in the past, see what is happening in the present, and look at future influences.

Put all your crystals in a bag or purse and draw three, one at a time. Place the first stone on the left, the second stone in the center, and the third stone on the right, in a row.

Interpret all three crystals together, but this time, you have the advantage of a timeline. For example, you might have bloodstone, smoky quartz, and citrine (as shown). Bloodstone means resilience, smoky quartz means patience and resources, and citrine means money and manifesting. In response to the question, Can my new business idea grow? one interpretation would be:

Your business has been hard work (the past); now, you may need to see results, but you need to be patient—you have the resources to hold your position (the present); the successful business you want will come. Keep manifesting this through dedication and have confidence (future).

This is based on the traditional meanings of the stones, but you may also use meanings that intuitively arise at the time of your reading. Go with what feels right.

CRYSTAL ADVICE

This three-stone reading also uses three positions, but it assigns different meanings to each crystal.

Draw three crystals, one at a time. Ask about me/my situation before drawing the first stone. Ask about external influences before drawing the second (frame this as you like: what other people think or how friends are influencing me, for example). The third crystal is advice from outside yourself and others: a message that the crystal itself brings you. See the interpretations for the crystals shown here or work with your intuitive responses.

WHAT’S HELPING YOU AND WHAT’S NOT

This developed past, present, future reading reveals what is helping and hindering your progress. It’s helpful to see this reading in terms of attitudes and beliefs, rather than to try to fit specific events to the stones’ meanings. Be open to what might arise during your interpretations.

You can lay out the crystals one of two ways. Either select five crystals from your bag or purse and place them in the order shown below on your mat or shake the five crystalsin your hands and drop them one at a time, placing them in the following positions:

THE ASTROLOGICAL READING: THE HOUSES OF THE SELF

For this reading, cast your stones over the astrological wheel and interpret them according to the zodiac sign, or house, in which they fall. By combining the stone