divination tools
There Is More To Astrology Than Horoscopes!
Astrology is an ancient, complex metaphysical tradition that originated over 4000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Yes, indeed! Old Babylonia was its birthplace, not Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Neither was it concocted by an enterprising editor of some trendy newspaper or magazine.
Actually, the first horoscope in the modern press is credited to the British astrologer Richard Harold Naylor who wrote a horoscope for the newly born Princess Margaret, titled What The Stars Foretell For The New Princess. It was published three days after her birth on August 24, 1930 in the Sunday Express weekly newspaper. It was so popular with readers that he was asked to write more horoscopes for the publication.
The sun sign astrology we see in modern day horoscopes was not originally intended for the individual, but it has become a useful gateway to entice people into a deeper exploration of astrology. Nothing wrong with a little ‘cheese for the mice,’ as long as we bear in mind that true astrology does not exclusively revolve around our birth sun sign.
Our sun sign is only one letter of the astrological alphabet, albeit a highly significant letter. The other planets in our natal chart do view our sun as the center of things, but the cosmos and our individual lives contain so much more.
The layered complexity of a nativity, a client’s individual birth story crystallized in an exact moment of time and place, is a story as rich as the history that birthed it. Ancient Babylonia carried the first seeds of the western, tropical system of astrology that many of us practice today.
Inspire Your Journaling With The Runes
Journaling is a powerful practice for self-discovery and personal growth. It allows one to reflect on your thoughts and emotions, gain clarity, and connect with your inner wisdom. Sometimes finding the necessary inspiration for a journal entry can however be difficult. A wonderful way to enhance your journaling practice is by incorporating runes. The runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet used for writing, divination, and magic. Each rune features a unique symbol representing different aspects of life and the natural world.
The use of runes as a divination tool dates back to the Viking Age (793–1066 CE) and has been practiced by many cultures throughout history. Today, runes are often used as a tool for self-discovery, personal growth, and spiritual practice.
Using the runes to inspire journaling is a simple and effective way to take your spiritual practice to the next level. Here are some steps to get you started.
1. Choose a set of runes that resonates with you. You can order a rune set online, purchase it at your local metaphysical shop, or even make your own. Each set should include 24 runes, plus one blank rune that represents the unknown or unexpected.
2. Set an intention for your rune journaling practice. Before you begin, relax, take a few deep breaths, and then set a clear intention for what you wish to gain from today’s journaling session. It might be clarity, insight, healing, or guidance on a specific issue.
Divining With Dowsing Rods
I have always loved working with my dowsing rods and have used them in various ways over many years. I have used dowsing, for example, to track down missing car keys, find lost jewelry, and locate various other household items. However, yesterday was a dowsing first for me.
I received a call from a friend whose husband had mysteriously lost his partial-denture plate. Apparently, he has the habit of frequently taking it out and then leaving it lying around in unusual places in their home. Of course, it irritates my friend, both from an aesthetic and hygienic point of view, but she has never been able to get him to be more conscientious with his false teeth!
Well, yesterday, his dentures were nowhere to be found. They had searched everywhere inside the house, until their four-month-old terrier-mix puppy sauntered in with soil all over his face. It was obvious that he had recently buried something.
The search for the missing teeth was thus taken outside to their large fenced off plot with its many olive trees and shrubs. The needle in the haystack was nowhere to be found. As a last resort, I was eventually called in to assist with my dowsing rods.
It took me about 20 minutes to locate the missing teeth. The dowsing rods took me directly to an area that was being prepared for planting. Once I reached the spot, all I had to do was sift through the soil with my fingers, and ‘voila’…the missing teeth were restored to its rightful owner!
How To Get A Clear Tarot Reading
I recently had someone mention that they always receive ambiguous information when they get a Tarot card reading. I found this to be quite a quandary, because I have never felt that this was the issue. Not only do I find great value in the use of Tarot cards in my personal work, I also know several very accurate readers that use Tarot cards as a divination tool.
With further discussion I found out that the average time this person spent in a reading was only five minutes. After hearing this information I was not really surprised at all that the information that they were getting seemed quite ambiguous? This being said, I have had some wonderful and insightful experiences while doing short readings. However, going through a Tarot spread and gaining absolute insight in five minutes would certainly create a challenge for even the most seasoned psychic readers.
There are many types of psychic abilities, and the manifestations of these gifts can also vary depending on the psychic or medium. I would like to explain my own personal experience, and I know that it aligns itself with several other readers.
Psychic information develops over time. Many times information comes to a psychic in the form of mental images rather that words, and it is the psychic’s job to translate the message. Psychic information is channeled much in the same way that someone remembers a dream. Information can sometimes start out relatively obscure, and then as details are added clarity comes naturally. Sometimes the flow of information happens quite rapidly, and other times it needs to be ‘teased out.’
The Mystical Tale Of The Lovers Card
I have made an illuminating discovery regarding the Lovers card in the Tarot. In all the years I have been practicing cartomancy, I never realized certain aspects of this card’s mytsical symbolism and its portrayal of the healing power of divine love.
In the classic Rider-Waite rendition, it is commonly accepted the card merely depicts an archetypal Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a scheming serpent lurking behind Eve and the majestic figure of an angel looming overhead. Recently, I learned from a psychic colleague’s podcast that the angelic figure portrayed in the in card in fact represents the Archangel Raphael. I’ve always been fascinated by Raphael, the angelic healer of minds, bodies and souls.
Raphael is first mentioned the ancient Hebrew apocalyptic book of Enoch, as well as the deuterocanonical book of Tobit. Also known as the apocrypha, the deuterocanonical books are not traditionally included in Protestant and Jewish canonical texts, but it is recognized in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
The book of Tobit relays the story of a blind man named Tobit and his son Tobias, whom he sends to retrieve an investment of silver he had deposited in a town in Media in north-western Iran. With the protection and guidance of the angel Raphael, Tobias arrives along his journey in Ecbatana, the capitol of Media, where he meets a young woman named Sarah.
Sarah is in utter despair and praying for death, as she has already lost seven husbands. Each of her lovers had been murdered on their wedding night by the demon Asmodeus, who is obsessively in love with her. Angel Raphael encourages Tobias to marry Sarah and then helps him to defeat the homicidal demon.
The Ancient Magic Of The Runes
The casting of runes is a fascinating divination practice dating back to the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. The rune symbols originally served as an alphabet for written communication in various Germanic languages until the Latin alphabet was later adopted.
But the runes retained their archetypal symbolism and time evolved into a powerful tool for divination, magic, and meditation. The origin of word ‘rune’ actually stems from the old Germanic word for ‘secret’ or ‘mystery.’ The modern mystique of the runes lies in how it connects us to the wisdom of the ancients.
The runes are a set of 24 symbols, each with its own unique symbolic meaning and energy signature. Traditionally it is made of natural materials, such as stone, wood, or bone. The most common use of runes is for divination purposes, where the symbols are cast, or drawn, and then interpreted to gain insight into a particular situation or question.
Like other divination tools, the runes offer a gateway to tapping into the collective unconscious. These symbols have been used for centuries by countless people, each leaving their own energy imprint on the universal interpretation of each. When we work with the runes, we therefore tap into the collective wisdom it represents and gain access to a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
A charming aspect of the runes is their connection to nature. Many of these ancient symbols were derived from natural elements, such as trees, animals, and weather patterns. By engaging with the runes, we also connect with the natural world and its rhythms, which empowers us with greater balance and harmony in our lives and aligns us with the flow of the universe.
The Empowering Symbolism Of The World Card
The World card in the Tarot remains one of my firm favorites. I am all for personal and spiritual growth, the completion of cycles, and new beginnings. The World represents exactly that: the ending of a cycle and pause in life, before the next major cycle begins with the fool.
The journey from the new beginnings of The Fool to the fulfilling endings of The World is a constant evolutionary process in our everyday lives that is represented by the sequence of the 22 Major Arcana cards of the Tarot. The World is the 22nd trump and therefore final card of the Major Arcana.
I have reflected on the imagery of the Rider-Waite version of this Tarot card in great detail. Rider-Waite is probably the most popular and universally recognized Tarot deck. The illustrations by Pamela Colman Smith at first glance appear simple, but the details and backgrounds feature abundant mystical symbolism.
The World pictures an empowered figure within a wreath – traditionally a symbol of victory, success, achievement, and eternal life. The figure holds a wand in each hand, which is reminiscent of the Magician card and the Two of Wands. However, while The Magician holds only one wand, the two wands in the The World card represents fulfillment, wholeness, balance and coming full circle.
The card is framed by four animals on the diagonal. The depiction of these four creatures parallels the four animal symbols used in Christian art to represent the four Evangelists, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four animals also represent the zodiac signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius, the four fixed signs in Western Astrology, which in turn represent the classical four elements of Earth, Fire, Water and Air.