Divination is sometimes defined as the process of trying to foretell the future and the unknown. Other definitions can be found in various works. I would like to add some thoughts on divination and how it is to be done correctly. The divinatory process must be respected and done faithfully. Essential to divination in many ancient cultures was the idea that higher beings send messages through these established divinatory systems. If a person doesn’t have faith, their faith is limited, or they don’t believe a divination system can possibly be accurate or produce real results, it’s likely that the results of a divination session won’t be good, true, or accurate. In this article, nine statements on divination are listed and explained.
1. Even if it’s true, it’s not meant to be a perfect guide
We must remember that the reason people do divination in the first place is that it deals with the unknown, the future, the hidden, the present, the unseen, the unknowable, and the past. In nearly all cultures that practiced it, the prevailing idea was that it was a way to connect to the gods, God, the divine, spirits, and higher beings. As such, it was only through the agency of these other beings and the use of an established system that literally was invented by a fabled sage and handed down through generations of practitioners that there could be an accurate divinatory answer. Divination was a sacred gift, a divine process, and it revealed things that weren’t always possible to know by normal means. While divination it allows for human free will and agency, and for those who believe in its efficacy, there is much that isn’t revealed even when it is accurate. Divination, by its very nature, isn’t meant to be a perfect guide nor is it ever a perfect map.
2. Mistakes occur based on experience, ability, and necessary ambiguity
As adherents of the divination process, we must understand the fundamentals of the methods we use, be they traditional western astrology, Chinese astrology, Tarot, Geomancy, Lenormand, runes, oracle cards, bird divination, dice oracles, the I Ching, and so on. Often, the diviner may make mistakes because they don’t have enough experience with a technique. The same goes for their inherent ability to connect to a system. While some diviners may have mastered a system, they don’t hold views that fit a cosmology that allows for divination or may even have views that are antithetical to the divinatory process as a whole. So there could be a lack of intuitive ability and faith to connect to what the message of the divination actually is. Other cases may involved mistakes that are destined because a situation requires fogginess, mystery, or ambiguity, due to those involved not respecting the divinatory process or other reasons. REMEMBER: People shouldn’t treat any divination result as absolutely certain to be correct before actually seeing that it is indeed so. On the other hand, sometimes people believe things in life that are false, such as stories, events, and evidence. A divination that goes against popular opinion or official narratives isn’t necessarily false.
3. Mistakes will happen all the time
People are going to make mistakes when they do divination or hire a diviner. It could be with the reason for doing the divination in the first place, the divination process itself, the interpretation of the process, and the response to it afterwards. In systems like traditional astrology, many astrologers are wrong just as often as they are right. There are numerous possible interpretations involved with any single transit, for example. How they interact with a person’s natal chart, their personal history, and their circumstances might be thematically correct but it will often be literally incorrect. Throughout the process of divination, mistakes can occur. People should never lose touch of their intuition or intellective faculty to blindly follow the results of a divination. REMEMBER: Life is full of surprises, and even certain astrological transits that are traditionally difficult might not turn out to be that negative, or even turn out to be neutral. On the other hand sometimes things look like they are going a certain way and the result is predictable.
4. Supposed to be hidden
Things that are unknown are that way for a reason. Though a powerful system like geomancy, astrology, or tarot may have a sort of divine quality to it, it still doesn’t change the fact that the unknown is unknown.
5. Good and bad can be reversed
When a negative tarot card is pulled, or someone is about to experience a difficult planetary transit, the result might not be as negative as one might imagine. Sometimes, good results from bad things and vice versa. Further, our own reaction to a negative or positive result plays a role in the actual outcome. A negative result may actually turn out to be moderate. Typical results don’t necessarily occur for everyone. A south node transit or a typically negative eclipse might not end a marriage, a career, or a living situation. Some people see things in black and white, and don’t leave space for something that may be in the middle. A transit may lead to a change in the state of a relationship, rather than lead to an end of a relationship. Positive tarot cards may be interpreted with pessimism or negative tarot cards may be interpreted with optimism. The verdict being arrived at, in many cases, is not fixed, and has a lot of wiggle room, cosmically and in our own response to it. If we get negative results we don’t have to accept them, nor do we have to view them in a negative way. The results may indicate negative things in a very small aspect or part of a topic of our lives, and results may be more moderate than good or bad. Subtlety and moderation should be encouraged when we understand and respond to divination answers. Again, the universe is full of surprises. Sometimes, people have their hearts saying one thing, their minds another thing, and divination taking sides with one or the other. Other times, all three are unified yet the universe goes on to shock all three. Divination adherents should strive towards moderation, temperance, modesty, and restraint. Though a divinatory process and result may be accurate, what it impacts and how it impacts it as well as the extent are not really always that predictable.
6. Archetypal results
In the case of many systems, the symbolism must be interpreted so there are never direct answers, although it might actually feel that certain results fit the querent’s concern directly. Astrology, in particular, is archetypal and there are a number of given interpretations and predictions for any transit or placement in an astrological chart. But nearly every other system communicates through symbolism.
7. Non-activation or mysterious aspects
Sometimes, astrological transits or time lords don’t seem to have any impact or effect on the topics associated with a house or the planets activated. Most of the time there might be an activation, but in some cases there clearly aren’t any type of activation. Divination can’t always work. It’s a cosmic principle. If it always worked and it always worked perfectly, it wouldn’t make sense, given it deals with the unknown. Only people who are able to enlighten to what divination can do can truly see it work most of the time. However, all humans are supposed to live in the dark, in illusion, in mystery. In my opinion, only those who can work through the darkness are allowed to see the light yet even for the luckiest and wisest people, they still live in matter, have a body, and have to live without true clarity. Divination results even when done with good technical knowledge, faith, and intention, may at times not activate or occur or apply. For humans, life is supposed to be mysterious.
8. All situations aren’t going to be the same
The symbolism of any given divination technique can be applied to a number of variations and possibilities.
9. Maliciousness, disrespect, and unvirtuous thoughts should never guide divination
Neither the client nor the diviner should hold negative views of divination during the divinatory process. Of course, most people have a side of them that believes in divination and a side that doesn’t believe in it. Faith is necessary for a good result in many cases. Likewise, if the reason someone asks for a divination session is for base desires, to cause harm to others, or do other malicious things, while the divination may give results, they won’t be as effective as if they were done guided with virtuous thoughts, respect, and goodness.
Photo Credits
1. Birds flying over an ancient Greek Temple. Photo by Midjourney. Username: @david.k9
2. An obelisk in the Egyptian desert. Photo by Midjourney. Username: @david.k9
David has studied traditional astrology since 2014. The Bay Area native completed Chris Brennan’s Introduction to Hellenistic Astrology course in 2015, and attended courses taught by Austin Coppock, Nina Gryphon, and Ryhan Butler. He is interested in exploring the less well known aspects of astrology, divination, and spirituality.