Divination is the art of foreseeing potential events and situations in the future or occurring elsewhere. It differs from fortune telling in that the person doing the divination realizes that the events ‘foreseen’ are not fixed and have the potential to change. This is due to what is known in quantum physics as ‘quantum entanglement’ or ‘the observer effect. This is why divination rarely supplies the correct numbers to the upcoming Lottery, and this goes double for rollovers, as too many people are trying to influence or see the outcome. The resulting energies just make the outcome even more uncertain.

Divination is akin to tracking animals, you read the patterns on the ground and the right hand side of your brain translates it into a story. Since this is right brain activity the impressions are passed to the conscious mind in the form of images and “hunches”. Much of what the tracker/diviner perceives is done by the subconscious mind and may be conveyed to consciousness by dreams or visions, or projected onto the divination medium being used.

Staying with the tracking metaphor a tracker may say “Something hiding in the bushes over there was watching this animal” even though the tracks look like those of ordinary activity. Searching the bushes indicated may well show signs that something was where the tracker said it was. Inexperienced people seeing this may put it down to psychic abilities on the part of the tracker and leave it at that. Not realizing that the tracker may have subconsciously noticed a broken branch, twig, or even displaced leaf in the bushes indicated and this was passed to the consciousness as a ‘hunch’

In coven or intuitive training circles noticing such details consciously or otherwise is considered a “bridging technique” and is the basis for such things as ‘cold reading’ where a person can make accurate assumptions about a person from their age, demeanour, dress, and accessories. This can be the basis for a lucrative career as an entertainer, fake psychic, or writer for TV detective series.

For the person serious about sharpening their divination skills it’s enough to know that this happens and may be part of any divination you are doing, and it’s a sign that their subconscious is communicating with them. Tools such as Tarot, Runes, and tea leaves act as focus for the conscious mind and a bridge for other parts of the mind to come through either as outlined earlier or through synchronicity, the art of meaningful ‘coincidence’.

Synchronicity is most apt to happen if the person has been taught what I think of as a ‘hard style’ of divination. This usually revolves around being taught that certain symbols cards or runes have fixed meanings; for example that the three of cups in the Tarot deck always means heartbreak or loss. Readers of this style will nearly always get this in a reading where such a situation is present, as the card will appear in exactly the right place to indicate it.

This may be a type of psychokinetic phenomena as has been remarked upon by the psychologist/psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung who had personal experience of this as well as seeing it happen to several of his clients during consultations. However it works it is enough at this level to know that it does in a useful manner and to be aware of it happening if it does.

The other system is to look for pattern and symbolism within the tools you are using. In the last century Tarot cards were produced that moved from just basic symbolism in the Major Arcana to a web of complex meanings in both parts of the deck starting with the Ryder Waite pack. In this style of reading rather than this=that you look for a flow of symbols that runs throughout the cards connecting them in a way that may not be apparent from their usual meanings. In this sort of reading the three of swords could mean anything from heart problems, to emotional issues, to a conspiracy, depending on what stands out from the different pictures in front of you.

In the case of symbolic systems such as Runes casting or some sort of energizing movement helps to bring out the meanings of the symbols more effectively. With Runes the shape of the cast, which symbols roll off the casting cloth, if they are face up or face down, and how they end up in relationship to each other all add to the meaning of the reading.

Sometimes impressions from the subconscious can be very accurate. But a lot of the time the impressions make no sense until they happen. A friend of one of my friends had a reading in which the clairvoyant saw them living in a house with lots of plastic bags in the garden. At the time they were doing well in a business partnership and this had no relevance. Several months later the partner ran off with all the money and the client list, leaving this person with no option but to sell up and move into a room in a house with lots of plastic bags in the garden

“The clairvoyant was accurate” They were reported as saying “But I wish they had picked up on what my partner was going to do!!”

This sort of accurate vision has lead to all sorts of theories about how the future is shaped, from the psychic being able to see down a personal timeline, to assertions about how key events in our lives are fixed. The only thing that seems to be correct is that we can significantly alter foreseen fate by our actions.

The more connected the conscious and subconscious mind are the more you can pick up from the divination tool you are using. Regular practice with it, meditation, and mindful exercises such as yoga will all help considerably. However one of the best ways to improve this connection is by pendulum dowsing.

All you need is a weight on a thread. I have used anything from a lump of chewing gum to a builder’s plumb line, and the thread need be no longer than your forearm. Draw a circle around a CD or saucer with a pencil or pen and draw an equal armed cross within it, splitting the circle into four equal quarters.

Place this diagram on a table and rest your elbow near enough to it to be able to hold the pendulum above the centre of the circle Let your eyes follow the vertical line up and down several times, gradually the pendulum will swing along that line. Do the same for the horizontal line and, after you get a reaction, let your eyes follow the circle itself. First one way then the other, until the pendulum starts to follow your gaze clockwise or anticlockwise depending on the direction you trace with your eyes.

Many people at this point start to drift into an altered state as the two minds become more aligned. This is an ideal time to ask “Which is the direction for Yes?” direct your question to the pendulum itself, being aware at some level you are creating a communication channel for the parts of your mind you are not usually aware. When you get a response, which may be any of the directions the pendulum has swung, remember it or make a note of it, then find the directions for “No”, “I don’t know” and “Stop for now”. The last is particularly important as it enables the subconscious to end the session if you are over tired or trying to force an answer you want rather than a true one.

Then hold the pendulum over the divination tool and ask questions that can be answered by the parameters you have set up. For example “Does this three of swords card mean a heart problem?”

With practice this extra dimension to your divination should enable you to become aware of your own dictionary of symbols. This will help you both in divination and becoming aware of why certain symbols in everyday life can affect you so profoundly.