Yesterday while performing a missing-person reading on a young girl, I came upon an implausible scenario that pointed out a flaw in my spread methodology. I presently have two spreads to examine these situations. One is more locational, asking "Where is X?" while the other attempts to answer "What happened to X?" The second one … Continue reading Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down: A Missing-Person Subroutine
Divination
No Thanks, I’ll Pass
On dream analysis, that is. Last night I slept so soundly that I had an almost unbroken series of anxiety dreams, for no apparent reason. (The t-shirt lies!) These were so entertaining that I had to write them down and share them. First I was being pursued by a relentless but incompetent zombie who couldn't … Continue reading No Thanks, I’ll Pass
Original Kipperkarten: First Thoughts
I recently received the Original Kipper Wahrsagekarten from Germany and have been scouring the internet for information on its use. (I'm aware of Toni Puhle's book, The Card Geek's Guide to Kipper Cards, but the consensus seems to be that it is best used with her own deck.) Kipper is a system of cartomantic divination … Continue reading Original Kipperkarten: First Thoughts
Home of the Strange
Imagine an unhinged Frank Sinatra crooning: Home, home of the strange Where the seer and the astrologue play Where seldom is heard a Discordian* word And the skrys are not cloudy all day. (Sorry about that, Dr. Higley. And yes, Sinatra did record Higley's original in 1946) I finally have my reading space and occult … Continue reading Home of the Strange
The Skeptic’s Confession
It may surprise you to see an admission of skepticism in a post by the author of a divination blog. But in fact I'm doubtful about the legitimacy of much that currently passes for truth in the metaphysical scripture of the unseen. For example, I'm a non-believer in the "Law of Attraction," which as far … Continue reading The Skeptic’s Confession
The “Ivory Gambit” Spread
Lately I've become fascinated with using dice and tarot in combination to produce unique forms of divination. Here the gambit (opening move) is provided by rolling dice to identify four trump cards to serve as the basis for the reading. Those trump cards are then used to extract four sets of "reading" cards from which … Continue reading The “Ivory Gambit” Spread
Divinatory Revisionism
Yesterday I was reading an article that equated geomancy with "earth healing" - that is healing of or through the Earth. This stopped me in my tracks because not only does this usage have absolutely nothing to do with the suffix "mancy," which derives from the ancient Greek word "manteia," meaning divination, it is at odds with … Continue reading Divinatory Revisionism
Craft, Career or Calling?
I sometimes wonder how many people actually make a living wage in the field of divination, much less a handsome income. There are notable exceptions, of course, mostly respected authors, teachers, lecturers, artists, publishers and the occasional shop owner (although those are rapidly disappearing or diversifying in the face of crushing online sales). But I would venture to … Continue reading Craft, Career or Calling?
The Nature of the Beast
While doing some rather casual on-line reading about the I Ching, I came across a brief introduction to the subject that holds the following insights on the nature of divination: "Methods of divination are as old as Mankind. The purpose of divination is often considered to be foretelling the future, but while simple superstitious fortunetelling … Continue reading The Nature of the Beast
The Seeker and the Spirit
Spiritually, I tend to define myself by what I'm not: that is, not religious in any conventional, monotheistic sense. Not Christian, Jewish or Muslim (although my ancestry is almost certainly Middle Eastern by way of southern Germany), not Hindu and not Buddhist (although Buddhism definitely has its appeal). After reading Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, … Continue reading The Seeker and the Spirit
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 