This seems like a fairly good time of year to be talking about divination. What
is it, why do we do it, and what's in it for us? Lots of people think it's a
way of avoiding responsibility - if the future is preordained, we might as well
go back to bed.
Of course, that's not it at all. Divination is the use of any one of several
methods to obtain Information which is not directly accessible to the conscious
mind of the person asking the question. Whether you use cards, crystals, a
pendulum, ink, lead, dice, the flight of birds or anything else, what you are
really doing is opening your end of a channel to higher wisdom. I consider the
"actual" source of that wisdom irrelevant and immaterial; it could be one's own
subconscious, the collective unconscious, the Gods' will, telepathic insight, or
a big computer buried in the Balkans. It's still additional information which
is not as tainted by ego and intellect's limitations as most.
So what do we do with it? The same things we do with any other information; add
it to what we already know and develop a synthesis that can help us do our
decision-making. The easiest way to analyze the process is with a concrete
(well, maybe jello) example:
A young man has been between Relationships for some time. He wants very much to
link up with the great love of his life, but is not aware of anyone on the
horizon. He is putting himself in a position to meet new people, presenting
himself as attractively as he can, and generally taking care of business, but no
results. He has to decide whether to take a work-related course at night or
not. It will take a lot of time and there are not likely to be any women
attending. His progressed horoscope is neutral. He gets his cards read. They
say:
[PAUSE]
1. Nothing at all about love, but a lot about skilled craftsmanship and
satisfaction through work. He decides to relax and wait for a better time,
takes the course, and is rewarded with a modest promotion which enhances his
satisfaction with his job.
2. A lot about increasing social activities, leading to the start of a new
romance, leading to great happiness and satisfaction after some difficulties are
resolved. He does not take the course, and meets a really nice interesting lady
at a party given by a friend (which he couldn't have attended had he taken the
course).
3. That he is overlooking sources of emotional gratification in his current
situation. Given the information, he starts looking around and discovers that
one of his quieter friends is a really thoughtful and insightful person who
helps him learn to know himself better, and that a young cousin needs a mentor
and this Relationship gives him a lot of pleasure and fulfillment. He begins
to feel much more ready for a good
relationship, and much less impatient to have one start.
These examples illustrate the point made above; divination provides you with
choices, and you take the consequences, no matter what the oracles say. Treat
them with respect, not adoration or blind compliance, and may they always show
you the truth.
Books in PDF format to read:
Anonymous - Dictionary Of The Forgotten OnesAleister Crowley - Invocation
Brian Swimme On Chardin - The Divinization Of The Cosmos
James Eschelman - Invocation Of Horus
Anonymous - Divination Spreads
