Divination

To see into the future and Predict the course of events is a desire that has preoccupied humankind from time immemorial. In some countries, animal entrails and oxen's shoulder blades are still examined for signs and answers to questions, as are the feeding habits of chickens. In the West, the richly symbolic system of the Tarot, with it's pictorial representations of situations or states of mind, has regained it's popularity, and the medieval art of casting runes has reemerged. The ancient art of palmistry, in which the lines etched on the human palm stand for areas of human life, continues to flourish everywhere.

 Crystal Ball

Crystal spheres can concentrate the rays of the sun and so have come to represent divine light and celestial powers. In Europe the crystal ball is often used in divination and is now a classic symbol of fortune telling. A medium gazes into the ball and sees "pictures," usually of the future.

Ouija Board

The Ouija board is a means of getting in touch with the dead and has come to represent contact with the spirit world. While many sees this as a harmless pastime, others use it seriously to contact those they have lost or to ask questions of the future. A group of people sit together lightly touching a planchette and by their concentration call down a spirit that uses it to spell out particular answers.

Pendulum

A pendulum can be used for dowsing-- discovering metal objects or water beneath the earths surface. In especially skilled hands, a pendulum can even be suspended over a map to locate lost items.

Divination Bowl

Among the Yoruba of Nigeria, a bowl is filled with sand and then tapped with a stick. The resulting sand formation can be interpreted by a diviner to answer questions such as where to locate water or when the tribe can expect rain.

Roman Divination

In Roman times sacred chickens were used as messengers of the gods. They were placed in specially constructed coops and observed. The way they scratched at their food and ate was thought to show whether or not the gods approved of a particular plan. A similar form of divination is still practiced in many parts of the world today.

Chinese Throwing Sticks

In Chinese temples is a common to see men and women shaking cylindrical pot's of sticks until one stick clatters to the ground. In this type of divination, cryptic messages are attached to the sticks. The one that falls first is all-important, and books provide detailed interpretations.

Tea Leaves

It was once common practice in England to have ones fortune told by means of tea leaves. The tea was drunk until just one teaspoon remained in the cup. The cup would then be rotated three times before the liquid was poured into the saucer. The patterns created by the leaves that were left behind formed the basis of the "reader's" interpretation.

Reading Hands

The idea that the lines of the hand reveal a persons character is very old. Different forms of palmistry appear in ancient Chinese and Jewish texts. As well as the lines the shapes of the fingers and of the "mounts" all play a part in the diagnosis.

Oil In Hand

In Arab countries, the traditional method of looking into the future is to "read" the formation of a pool of black ink or oil in the palm of the hand.

Palmistry

According to palmistry, one's character and future life is written in the lines of the hand. The palm contains number lines three of which-- the head line, the heart line, and the life line--- are deemed particularly important. The strength and length of these major lines indicate health, relationships, and overall character, as well as destiny.

Rune Stones

Casting runes for divination organized in Iceland in the Middle Ages and has recently come back into vogue. There are 24 runes, each with a symbolic meaning, plus a blank one for the unknown. The order in which the runes fall dictates their meaning.

Dice

Dice have been thrown in divination since ancient times and are common symbols of luck or chance. In this method of looking into the future, three dice are thrown. When they fall, the numbers that they reveal and the order in which the dice lie are checked against a table of  meanings. This in turn provides answers to or interpretations of the questions raised.

I Ching

The I Ching is an ancient Chinese divinatory text in which answers to questions are set out in the form of "trigrams." Each trigram consists of three whole (male) or broken (female) lines. There are eight basic patterns that can be combined to provide a choice of 64 hexagrams of 6 lines, each giving a different meaning.

The Language of the Tarot

Tarot cards probably originated in the East. They entered Europe more than 500 years ago. The cars consist of 22 major arcana, or trump cards, and 56 minor arcana, the two sets possibly originated separately. They present a picture of a personality and symbolize the souls journey along four parallel paths toward spiritual enlightenment.

   
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* Some extracted information from the book   "Signs & Symbols."