Thursday, November 5, 2020

The Real Gypsy Guide to Fortune Telling by Deborah Durbin

 The Real Gypsy Guide to Fortune Telling by Deborah Durbin
 

Really nice book about several divination methods. I'm going to post the chapter about ribbon divination - something I have never even heard of before reading this book - as a sample of how she writes, but go find the book, there's much more than this in it. She talks about tea/coffee readings, runes, dominoes, dice, pendulums, angels, numerology, crystals, pyromancy, the moon, and also some traditional superstitions. 




Ribbons used in readings date back to Celtic times and folklore tales of traveling gypsies, offering their handmade crafts and bright-colored ribbons, reveal that when they sold a ribbon, usually for ladies to wear in their hair or to attach to their clothes, they would also give them a free ribbon reading, depending on the color ribbon they bought.

How to do your own Ribbon Readings

Ribbon Readings are a good way to not only predict the outcome of your future but also give you a good idea of who you really are. As with any form of divination, for a Ribbon Reading to be successful, it is essential to find a place where you can have five minutes of peace and quiet.

Prior to using your ribbons, leave them laid out on a window sill that catches the light of a full moon. This will cleanse and energize each individual ribbon.
What you will need

14 plain-colored ribbons (about 12 inches in length).
The colors should be light pink, dark pink, orange, green, peach, turquoise, navy blue, light blue, purple, silver, white, red, black, and yellow.
Three patterned ribbons (about 12 inches in length).
A silk or velvet purse or a small wooden box to keep the ribbons in.

How to read your ribbons

Place all the ribbons inside your silk purse or wooden box and give them a little mix around. Now you can begin your reading.
Think of a question or a situation you want answered or resolved, and without looking in the bag/box take out one ribbon and place it on a table in front of you. Repeat this six more times – be sure to remember the order of the ribbons you have taken out. You may find it’s easier to lay them so that the first is the top, the second below it, and so on.

Starting from the top, your ribbons relate to the following areas of your life:
Ribbon One: Your personality and who you are.
Ribbon Two: Any negative aspects in relation to your question/situation.
Ribbon Three: Any positive aspects in relation to your question/situation.
Ribbon Four: Suggested action to take.
Ribbon Five: Your strengths.
Ribbon Six: Your weaknesses.
Ribbon Seven: The outcome.

Read each ribbon in order.

Below is a list detailing the meaning of each ribbon:
Red – You are passionate and fiery but may find it difficult to maintain a steady relationship. Red ribbons also show someone who needs to become more spiritual in order to be happy. Remember, material things are not the be-all and end-all. Home and family are important to you. A marriage proposal could be on the way.
Black – Black is the sign of protection. You are very protective of yourself and your family. Black can signal that you have been through an emotional time lately. This color is also associated with someone who is drawn to all things of an occult nature, so you would be advised to listen to your intuition. Watch out for someone who is not all they seem.
Light Pink – You are open and tend to wear your heart on your sleeve, however, you are very positive and optimistic in life. Don’t take everything so personally and try not to take on other people’s emotions.
Dark Pink – As above, but you are much more open with your feelings and emotions, which is not always a good thing. Try to hold back a little and don’t reveal everything about yourself too soon.
Orange – You tend to take things to excess and have a bit of an addictive personality. The advice here is to try and calm down a bit. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. Listen to your inner voice, it’s always right.
Peach – Be your own best friend. You can be your own worst enemy sometimes. Don’t let other people influence you too much. Decisions might have to be made, so weigh up the pros and cons before coming to a decision.
Yellow – You have good prospects if you choose the yellow ribbon and will get to where you want to easily. Money, success, and prosperity are close by and this happy, sunny ribbon tells us that life is good.
Green – Passionate and loving about nature, this ribbon suggests that you are happier in the great outdoors. Don’t give too much to others. The message here is to find a balance between giving and receiving.
Turquoise – This shows that you are a strong character and often act as a support to others. You recover quickly from illness and can take huge amounts of stress. You are a natural advisor, but be careful that someone doesn’t take it for granted.
Navy Blue – Blues are associated with having a natural talent for mediumship, clairvoyance, and all things of a supernatural nature. Your talents in this area will soon grow and you should go with your gut instinct.
Light Blue – As with navy blue, but you are not yet aware of your talents. Find a spiritual circle or support where you can grow your talents and mix with like-minded people.
Purple – You are a natural carer and nurturer and have a real zest for life. Use this to your advantage. People are drawn to you like a magnet and you often play the role of the nurturer.
Silver – You are a young head on old shoulders. Wise beyond your years you would be wise to investigate past life regression. Looking back on your family tree will reveal many interesting secrets.
White – Like the simplicity of the color white, you like a simple life. Get rid of anything that is holding you back. Clear out the old clutter in your life, so that you can live in harmony.

Patterned Ribbons

If you choose a patterned ribbon, first look carefully at the colors within the patterns and read the relevant colors.

If the pattern is:
Stripy – This ribbon shows that you can be a bit prickly at times, but you are also a born organizer. Use this skill to get to the top of the ladder. You don’t have the best patience with people sometimes, so try to learn a little.
Spotty – This shows that you are well-balanced, but a little disorganized. You can be prone to overspending. Try to curb the overindulging too.
Zigzags – This shows that you have the ability to get on with people from all walks of life. Use this to your advantage. You would make a good counselor, mentor, or Samaritan.


Here's another version of this

Some more thoughts about ribbon reading

Some more 

Monday, November 2, 2020

Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards

 In my mind the best way of learning how to use the divination tools, is to follow with when someone else does it. So here comes a sample reading of the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards.

I am going to assume you are familiar with using Lenormand cards and the symbolical meanings, so I will not talk much about the meaning of the symbols.

This is the layout. You mix the cards and then put them in 5 by 5 grid. It doesn't matter which way the cards are. There isn't really up and down with these cards.


First you look at the symbols that appear whole from beginning. In this layout there's the bread, the house and the ship. These symbols are very strong, the most important part of the message. 

The bread is a symbol of stability, prosperity, generosity, happiness and food. It is angled to right, which means happiness and prosperity.
Then there's the house or home. It stands for home or business, what provides us with security. It's upside down, which means failure of a project planned in advance.
On the last row is the ship. The ship means adventures. The ship is also upside down, and means material loss or unsuccessful work.
I suppose it means I won't be finishing my book this month either :-D

Next you turn the tiles so that you complete the pictures that can be completed. In this layout there's three pictures; the owl, angled to right, the clover, also angled to right, and at last the moon, upright.

the owl symbolizes intelligence, wisdom, planning, strategies. Angled to the right it means your plans will be discovered.
the clover stands for luck, of course. Angled to right it means that a misunderstanding endangers our happiness.
the moon represents peace and fertility. Upright it means simple, but happy life.

Now, the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards care about which way around the symbols are, but the Russian patience tile reading doesn't. It's like with Lenormand. It is the symbols that matter, not which way around they are. What is next to the symbols matter also more.

Then you check the pictures that are in the same row or column but do not touch. These are "almosts" - something got in the way. 

On 3rd row, there's the scales and the ring. On column 3 there's the little devils and the sword/dagger

The demons are inner conflicts. The dagger is grave danger to my pride.
The ring symbolizes commitment, and the scales justice and balance.
So - these things won't happen, because of something else. They almost happened.

You can look at the pictures that are in between these, to find out more information about what stopped it. Basically, the dagger and demons stopped each other. The bread is somehow involved as well. The ring and the scales were cut by the house.

And while I was doing this, I noticed two pictures that touched, but I had missed - money on the last row, and coffin under the clover - I have to break the clover to make the coffin.
The money to the left means unexpected income. The coffin to the left means painful event that cannot be avoided. Now, because we formed the clover first, the coffin doesn't happen. A misunderstanding causes unhappiness, but I assume the coffin would have been worse.

I know I should have asked a question, it would be much easier to interpret than just rabble the meaning :-D Nevertheless, I think this is about my November and as the most important question right now is NaNoWriMo, then I am going to take this as that.

Next you check what cards are touching your completed picture. Ignore the images in the tile itself, because those are always the same, and don't matter. Only those that touch the tiles forming the image matter. For example, the bread is touched by the dog, the stork, the book, the heart and the snake - and nothing. Having the picture forming on the edge of the layout has meaning as well. That empty space is like 0 card, the Sacred Squirrel, the Fool.

You might find it easier to interpret if we "translate" it to Lenormand cards - after all, these Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards share quite a lot of the symbolism with Lenormand cards. (I am using the Malpertuis Lenormand deck (because of the squirrel), and because there is no "bread" in Lenormand, I made that card up.)

I would say that in this case the happiness and prosperity promised is governed by the happy go lucky squirrel thoughts, and will produce a book. (NaNoWriMo :-D) 

Snake and dog: To desire the success for loyalty, friends, maybe fans? 

Snake and heart could mean desire for love - I do want to write to get fans, even though I want to write because I want to write. I am full of stories, and have been telling them since I was a little girl.

Snake and stork means a very strong desire that has been going on for a long time. Oh, yeah. To me, the stork also stands for babies. So let's hope this means I will actually succeed writing my book :-D

Now, in the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards, the snake doesn't stand for longing, but a snakish person, infidelity, poisonous words. I don't think I'll use that, though. I think I like the desire reading more :-D
(This is divination, and all the symbols are personal, after all.)

The house is touched by sun, lilies, ring, clover, crayfish, and a child. The others are pretty much as in Lenormand, but the crayfish represents out destiny and our ability to react to life. This to me is very positive as well. (I have a project together with my husband, BTW.)

The ship is touched by a dog, a forest, and a fish, and three squirrels :-D The forest symbolizes people around us.

The formed figures:

owl: switches (whip), demons, stars, handshake and squirrels
In this the branches stand for family members, not switches. The handshake means union and co-operation. Demons are inner demons, negative thoughts, fears, conflicts.
clover: fish, bouquet, mice, bear, book, horseshoe. The horseshoe symbolizes luck in an unexpected way. I would say I should be afraid of the little mice nibbling my time away, but if I just put in the work, it will work out.
money: birds, squirrels, switches (whip) and child
moon: stars, bear, squirrels, letter - stars symbolize the destiny as end result, bear is hard work, letter is news. 

Frankly, I think this looks really good. If one doesn't care about which way they lay. I have to say that it looks pretty obvious - I am going to finish my novel if I just write. I need to look up for negative thoughts and frivolity, but basically the only thing that makes me fail is if I don't write :-D Duh! :-D

Do you have any questions?

P.S. One way of reading these is that if you have to break one picture to create a new one, it means that a new situation replaces the old one.

Friday, February 28, 2020

LeNormand, March 2020

Grand Tableau
 
The deck is Mystical Lenormand
 
garden - lady - fish - stork - book - ring - letter - cross
scythe - mice - crossroad - rider - child - lily - snake - whip
key - clover - anchor - dog - coffin  - heart - clouds - mountain
man - ship - bouquet - bear - house - sun - stars - tower
moon - fox - tree - owl

This is a reading about March, which means all of it is in the future.
The Significator card is the second, on first row, which also means I'm in control

The past that influences March:
- message about group decision, lottery - maybe the decision about housing
- I am in pain
- happy news about traveling, beneficial,
- personal growth concerning home
- end to long term stress and nervousness
- repeated key decisions about a friend
- sad or bad news cause quarrel and/or contemplation
- ambitions, stressful, job well done
- travel companion faces a decision
- long term problems: depressed man
- choice between new love and lack of love
- social, talkative man, father figure
- primary focus: home needs repairs
- work related to family successful
- creative ideas, positive change, honor, success

March:
My life is lonely life of books.
I am discontent with my working life.
My sex life has been deteriorating for a long time and this causes me stress.
I am seen as knowledgeable and respected.

The future:
- I will have a sexual encounter and get pregnant. (You bet I'm confused :-D)
- I will receive a message about work and finances, which can be false
- I will keep having health concerns, be in pain
- Apparently I'm appreciated because I cause end to arguments and gossip?
- problem with authority figures or parental figures - childish and long-lasting. Mother with Alzheimer's
- I dream about a physically fit man, troubling feedback hinder me from reaching him
- decision needs to be made about travel
- my friends are being bothered by worries gnawing their luck in life, but there's a happy outcome.
- major problems in love life
- commitment with a depressed, opinionated man
- important trip with a friend a major "education".
- I am going to receive message about long term happiness, achieving goals, joyful invitation
- I need to address the issue of daydreaming. Either I sleep my days away, or do something with my dreams
- positive news about work
- I am depressed, the home needs reparations
- burdens: difficult conversations with parental figure

Four corners:
Garden + Tower - society?
Cross + Man - depressed man
Garden + Man - popular man, public figure
Tower + Cross - The High and mighty is a problem

garden - scythe - key - man is the immediate past
lady - mice - clover - ship is the now
the rest is the future - owl (birds) is the last days of March

I would say that I will get an end to my worries and with help solve the home problems.


Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Find Love With These 18 Old Halloween Fortune-Telling Tricks

by Lucas Reilly

Before trick-or-treat, the sugar lobby, and mass-produced David S. Pumpkins costumes took over Halloween celebrations, fortune-telling games were one of the most popular ways to enjoy our spookiest holiday.

This was especially true in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Halloween is rooted in the festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Year, in which worshippers believed the gates between our present reality and the netherworld briefly shut down. It was a night for consulting the spirit realm for advice—especially on love and marriage. In fact, Halloween was just as romantic as our modern Valentine’s Day, if not more so.

With Lisa Morton’s exhaustive book The Halloween Encyclopedia as our guide, we’ve cobbled together some of the best romantic divination techniques from the Celtic New Year celebrations. Keep in mind that as far-fetched as some of these fortune-telling games may seem, they were largely viewed as playful parlor games—opportunities for friends to set potential suitors up, or for a bashful lad or lass to spark a courtship. When playing a game, “a clever hostess will send two unsuspecting lovers by different doors;” Martha Orne suggests in Hallowe’en And How to Celebrate It, “they are sure to meet, and not infrequently settle matters then and there.”

Perhaps it's time to bring a few of these back?

“If someone peels an apple in one piece and throws it over his or her shoulder or head, 
it will fall in the shape of a future love’s initial.”

1. Acquire a newborn baby. Encourage it to sip from a bowl. Afterward, return the baby. Retain the bowl and fill it with water, then cut all 26 letters of the alphabet from a newspaper or magazine—or write the letters on 26 slips of paper—and place the papers into the bowl. Leave it to sit overnight. The next morning blindfold yourself, dip your hand into the bowl, and pull out the same number of slips as letters that are in your name. Using those slips, you should be able to spell the name of your future spouse. (You can thank the people of Newfoundland for this custom.)

2. Eat an entire salted herring, bones and all, in three bites. Do not drink water. Go to bed. In your dreams, prophetic visions of your future spouse shall appear. (Also possible: indigestion.)

3. Find a blackberry bush. Crawl underneath the branches. In the moonlight, you may find the shadow of your future beloved. (Also possible: blackberries.)

4. Procure two apple seeds. Wet the seeds. Designate one seed for “Love Interest A,” and the second seed for “Love Interest B.” Press the seeds against your forehead or eyelids. Wait. The first apple seed to fall will indicate the least faithful of the two suitors.


5. Trespass on your neighbor’s garden. Strap on a blindfold, and began searching for kale. Upon finding the vegetable, attempt to pull the kale from the dirt. The shape of the kale's root shall foretell your future: “A straight stalk foretold a tall straight handsome mate, and dirt clinging to the kale promised money,” Morton writes. (Don’t snicker: This divination was once a popular matchmaking tool in Scotland, and, if you’re of Scottish descent, there’s a chance that you owe your entire existence to a stalk of kale.)

6. Step outside and pluck a hair from your head. (If balding, skip to the next divination.) At nightfall, toss the hair into the wind. The direction the hair flies will indicate the direction from which your future spouse will come. In 1714, the English dramatist John Gay mentioned this custom in this poem:

    I pluck this lock of hair from off my head
    to tell whence comes the one that I shall wed.
    Fly, silken hair, fly all the world around,
    Until you reach the spot where my true love is found.


7. Spread a fine layer of cornmeal near your bed. (People with carpet can probably skip this one.) Sleep. In the morning, the name of your future spouse will be scribbled in the powder. (This bit of divination was supposedly practiced by children in the American South.)

8. Grab an egg, prepare a glass of water, and school yourself in oomancy! Crack the egg and carefully drip the whites into the water three times: The goop will contort to form the initials of your future beloved. (But be careful: Morton writes of a young man who was so disturbed by his eggy divination, he “drank heavily and became a beggar who committed suicide by downing laudanum.” The girls of Salem also attempted to read egg whites, and, well, we know how that turned out.)



9. Book a ticket to the Scottish Highlands, specifically to Ross-shire where this trick supposedly originated. Find a field in which the furrows run north to south. Wait for dark. Enter the field from the west, and gently walk over 11 furrows. Stop at the 12th, wait, and listen for your fortune: If you hear sobbing, you may die early; if you hear music, your future will be joyful. (And if you hear a man or woman grumbling about getting off their lawn, your future likely holds a trespassing charge.)

10. Find a snail. Go to the hearth, scoop up ashes, and scatter them across a plate. (Hearthless? Use flour!) Place the snail on the plate and go to sleep. In the morning, check the snail’s slime trail: It will have spelled the initials of your true love.


11. Locate the nearest lime-kiln. Then locate the nearest arts and crafts store and buy blue yarn. Throw the ball of yarn into the kiln while grasping the opposite end. Reel in the yarn. When you feel a tug from the other end, ask for the name of your future beloved, and a disembodied voice will belch his or her name. (This tradition originates in lower Scotland, where it was believed that mythical household goblins called “Brownies” lived in the kilns—and, well, everywhere else.)

12. Buy a knife and find a field of leeks. At night, walk backwards through the field, and stab one of the leeks with the knife. Hide, then watch. According to Celtic lore, your future spouse will walk through the field, pick up the knife, and chuck it to the middle of the garden.



13. Visit a farm and pull up a stalk of oats. If the stalk is missing the tiny seeds at the top—what the Scots called the pickle—then you’ll lose your virginity before marriage. (For people who have already sowed their oats, pulling up a stalk of oats is probably unnecessary.) The Scottish poet Robert Burns refers to this custom, alluding to a woman’s virginity as the “tap-pickle":

    But her tap-pickle maist [nearly] was lost,
    What kiutlin [fondling] in the ‘fause-house’
    Wi’ him that night.

14. Attain a willow branch or wand. While holding it in the left or right hand, run around your house three times. Meanwhile, whisper, “He that is to be my goodman, come to grip the end of it.” During the third lap, the fetch—that is, the living spirit—of your future spouse will appear and grab it. (Willow is a interesting choice of wand, since it used to be a symbol of curmudgeonry. In the Scottish Highlands, placing a peeled willow wand on your door was a sign that you wished nobody to enter your house.)

 


15. At midnight, scoop up a heaping spoonful of salt and insert it into your mouth. Do not swallow. Then light a candle, grab a mirror, and, while holding both candle and mirror in your hands, begin walking backward into the cellar. Watch the mirror. As you reach the bottom, you’ll see the face of your future spouse staring back at you. (According to the aptly titled Book of Entertainments and Frolics for All Occasions, “This is most easily accomplished if there be a tacit agreement that some cavalier shall be in waiting for the inquiring maid.”)

16. Place two nuts on a fire and recite these words: If you hate me spit and fly; if you love me burn away. If the nuts roll apart, you may separate soon from your spouse. If both burn, your relationship is secure. A similar divination involves placing two peas on a red-hot shovel.



17. It’s time to break out the Luggie Bowls! Place three bowls side by side: Fill the first with clear water, the second with dirty water, and the third with no water at all. Blindfold yourself and ask a friend to rearrange the bowls. Dunk your left forefinger into one of the bowls. If you choose the clear bowl, you’ll enjoy a happy marriage. The dirty water, on the other hand, indicates an unhappy marriage, and the empty bowl means no marriage at all. Robert Burns describes Luggie Bowls in a poem:

    In order, on the clean hearth-stane
    The luggies three are ranged,
    And every time great care is ta’en
    To see them duly changed:
    Auld uncle John, wah wedlock’s joys
    Sin Mar’s year did desire,
    Because he gat the toom-dish [empty] thrice
    He heaved them on the fire
    In wrath that night.

18. Pour half a pint of high-proof brandy in a dish. Ignite it. Throw a handful of raisins, nuts, candied figs, and other tiny fruits into the blaze. Then gather a group of friends and attempt to remove as many items as possible, trying your best to toss them into your mouth without getting burnt. Whoever retrieves the most fruits and nuts is destined to meet their true love in one year. (In Britain, this game, known as Snap-Dragon, was mostly a Christmas Eve parlor game—Charles Dickens wrote about it in The Pickwick Papers—but, in the United States, it supposedly became a Halloween pastime.)

Monday, October 28, 2019

Fortune Telling Dolls

I love these things!

It's a doll with a skirt of fortunes.

 

The Sibyl Fortune Teller
 
If the truth you wish to learn
Give my base a quarter turn
Find your question in this book
On its number closely look
The color too just keep in mind
Then on the base your birth month find
On nearest fold of selfsame hue
Find your answer clear and true

The little booklet has all kinds of questions, set under a planet or deity, like Venus or Apollo, like "Shall I or shall I not" and "Ought I go to a lawyer about it". Typical questions from 20s oracles etc. All questions under a specific deity is on a different colored page. The skirt then has all possible answers to these questions, like a Magic 8 Ball.



My biggest problem with my oracle doll was to come up with fortunes :-D
 
I was thinking that one could take the daily horoscope from a newspaper or something like that; fortune cookie fortunes, and glue on the skirt.




Lithomancy

Short recap of Marion Williamson's article Lithomancy in Soul and Spirit magazine


1: set up
- use 10-16 stones or crystal. 10 for each of the Astrological planets, others for things like fortune, hope, faith, love, news, home life, unexpected events, opportunities and so on.
- use 10-16 stones or crystals
-- use one stone for each of the Astrological planets.
2: divide the circle
- take a large piece of paper or cloth
- divide it into 12 equal sections, each one representing a house of the zodiac.
3: decide your time frame
- next hour? Tomorrow? Next week, month, year?
4: ask for support
- place the stones in a bag or bowl. Run your fingers through them. Think about the guidance you need.
5: let the stones fall
- you can let them fall into the circle or mindlessly pick one at a time and place in the circle
6: read the signs
- start with house 1 and move around clockwise.
- find out the keywords of each planet and each house, and read the circle like astrology

(Now, Marion is an astrologer, so of course to her this would be obvious and easy - but if you are not, divide the circle into as many segments as you think your life has areas and name the areas - and name the stones the "hope, faith, love, fortune" way - or like tarot cards or anything like that, that has a meaning to you.)
 

Look for patterns in the cast, a bit like a teacup reading.
Look if there are clusters of stones in a particular area of the circle. This means you need to pay extra attention to that area of life.
If you use pointed stones, the direction of the arrows will give you more information. 


 
Other possible ways to use the stones:

Love dilemma:
- divide the circle into as many parts as you have love interests and name the sections
- assign meaning to the stones, like "forget about it", "keep it a secret", "a fun fling", "marriage material", "overthinking it", "run for the hills", "magnetic attraction", "it's not over", and so on

"The most important thing to remember is that it's you who holds the answers. So if you think a particular stone's meaning should be different  to it's traditional interpretation, or that a different crystal should be used to represent another planet, trust your instincts - that's the whole point of the reading"

Sunday, October 27, 2019

15 Types Of Divination To Consider Adding To Your Practice

 
I don't much care whether people think divination is "just" fortune-telling.
To me it's "knowing the unknowable". Digging into the subconscious, and perhaps there is something that influences the tools and make certain cards come up, or certain signs to show up.
I don't know how it works, and I don't care.
I'm ok with the supernatural explanation as well as the scientific explanation. (Yes, there is one. We are thinking about certain things, so obviously we are interpreting the rather general symbols to mean specific things. And all the human beings are basically the same. We have the same worries and fears, the same emotions, the same motivations and all that. So, if you "believe" divination works, you will fit the "message" to your situation. If you don't "believe", you will find how it's different from your reality.)

But I am really interested about divination and different divination methods. :-)

This article talks shortly about 15 common methods of divination. We all have probably tried these:

Astrology
I think it's a bit too wide a subject to add to one's practice. Of course, when I know the subject well, I will be able to use it better. I can see with one glance how the daily star chart relates to my personal chart, I know the planetary influence, I know which planets works against mine and which work for; where in the areas of life these influences work and so on and so forth. But you can always get deeper and deeper, and to do it "properly", it takes time and commitment, and then you don't have time for anything else. This is why I don't speak about astrology in this blog. I get sucked in and I can spend hours and hours researching and checking and calculating and refining and defining and... one can go really deep into this, and before you know, you have been sucked in and start discussing Arabic parts and fixed stars and whatnot. It is very fascinating, and every now and then I miss it, but - there was a time when all I did was astrology, and had no time left for all the hundreds of other methods :-D
I don't like that.

Automatic Writing 
Might be an interesting addition to my divination practice...
I think clairvoyance, clairaudience and other clairsenses are kind of aching to this. Though... I don't think everyone can - or that it comes easier, much easier for others, and that's why it might not be a viable option for everyone. If you have to struggle and practice a lot, it might not be that valuable addition.

Cartomancy
My divination practice is like 80% cartomancy as it is :-D
Just remember that there is A LOT more cards to play with than Tarot and Oracle Cards. There's LeNormand, Deste and Kipper, there's other older decks than modern oracles, there's the "gypsy witch fortune telling deck" and other such... a lot. Non-tarot nor oracle divination decks. Find out, and you might also like them. Those really add a lot to a divination practice.

Pendulum - not dowsing. Dowsing is used to find water or other materials, not for divination. The correct term is pendulum or pallomancy (divining by swaying)

Graphology
No. Graphology is divining a person's character by his or her handwriting, and it is not suitable for divining.

Numerology
Could be. Though it's rather... specific. Limited.

Oneiromancy
Of course one should be noticing one's dreams. Though using them for divination is not a simple thing.

Palmistry
Another divination method that tells more about a person than the future or current events

Precognition
Most people have nothing of the kind, and it's probably not easy if even possible to "add to your practice"

Psychometry
Doesn't say anything about the future or current events. It talks about past and the people who have been in contact with the thing one reads.

Rune casting 
Absolutely should be added to one's practice if it isn't already part of it

Scrying
I find it easy, so sure, but it's not easy for everyone... and demands a bit more. Also, not easy to interpret.

Reading tea leaves or coffee 
Yes, would be interesting if one took a habit of reading one's breakfast cup every morning. :-)
 

So, instead of astrology, clairaudience and clairvoyance, precognition, psychometry, palmistry, numerology, and graphology, I suggest
- Bibliomancy
- Geomancy
- I Ching
- dice casting or Cleromancy
- lithomancy

So... what else... (to get the 15 :-D)
- divining with coins
- divining with melted metal (or wax, might be safer)
- the inkblot oracle

I am enamored by Carrie Paris' Magpie Oracle :-)

Thursday, July 4, 2019

The Empress

The Tarot Guide

Gill deck

 Does this card make you think of your mother? Or ANY mother? Or is it just a sexy lady? Not saying your mother isn't a sexy lady, but with Empress the "mother" vibes should trump the "sexy lady" vibes. Even "the ruler" vibes should trump the "sexy lady" vibes. Sex is good, but it's not all this card is about. It's not even the main thing, even though this card stands for Astarte/Ishtar, the Goddess of sex and fertility and procreation

Undead Journey - a Major Arcana deck by Stef Tastan

3 - The Empress
CURRENT , NATURAL GROWTH, PREGNANCY
Fertility, Abundance, Material Wealth and Grace, Pleasure, Well-being.

God cannot be everywhere, so He created the mother, a Jewish proverb
The Empress rules the created world. She is the archetypal Mother Earth, fertile and generous. It expresses all the abundance and the gift that can be obtained on the physical plane. It is Naturalness, Feeling, and creating life and caring for it with love and devotion.
Esoterically, it is the completed or realized and realized aspect of the feminine principle, initiated by the High Priestess. Knowledge planted in the subconscious of the High Priestess developed in material results.


The focus here is on existence, rather than activity, on existence in harmony with inner feelings and emotions. This card symbolizes fertility, feelings, emotions, development, creativity and creativity, fertility and abundance. The Empress shows that the asker will be rewarded as a result of fruitful work. The drinker should not be disappointed with the delays, but trust in his instincts; his success is yet to come.

S.V. - The Empress symbolizes emotions and shows the asker the importance of following her instincts and feelings. The drinker should not be redirected by thought or action.

Spiral Tarot

3 Empress - it is illuminated by Venus
symbol of - union of opposing forces - energy and form, strength and stability ...
pregnant mother pictured. arch. of great and ancient power and relics. all the creative energy of love.
ref. - may be a sign of a violent love affair or marriage. For an already established couple - a child or creative work in which they will be together.
A fruitful work for the artist.
Material well-being.

The abundance is in the threes.
Feed your mind with knowledge so that you can gain wisdom.
Feed your body good nutrition so you can stay healthy.
Feed your soul with love, so you will achieve inner peace.
When you take care of yourself, you get more abundance to share with those around you.

The Empress by Cathy McClelland (Star Tarot)

-------------- creativity -------------------- nature in its tangible aspect. The ever-renewing and re-creating power of nature. The concrete, tangible reality .---


beauty, intelligence and spiritual strength.
-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -
Wisdom and Understanding, Joining the forces of Origin and Creation
  Wildwood tarot
Wreathed in oak leaves, The Greenwoman stands behind her great cauldron of milk. In each hand she protectively holds creatures from the Wildwood that are as yet unfamiliar to us.  'Welcome traveller,' she smiles. 'You have reached the time of the Summer Solstice, the time of our greatest power!  Behold my cauldron – the milk within shows that I am The Great Mother of all life. I am the sheela-na-gig who pours the world from her womb. “
 
 Cosmos Tarot

3. - The Emetrica
- creativity and strength
Being creative is a quality you bring to the activities you do. It's an attitude, an internal approach - how you look at things ... Not everyone can be an artist - and they don't need to. And not everyone can be a dancer. But everyone can be creative.

Whatever you do if you do it with joy, with love, if you do it not only from an economic point of view, then it is creative creativity. If any of this emerges within you, if it makes you grow, it is spiritual, it is constructive, it is divine. Love what you do. Be contemplative as you do it - whatever it is!

The important thing is to be open to what wants to be expressed through you.
Remember, we do not own our creations, they do not belong to us.
True creativity grows out of union with the divine, the mystery.
Then it is both - a joy for the creator and a blessing for the rest.

INSTANT IDEA - AN IMMEDIATE IDEA
Fertility / Abundance
The 'Hygeia' canvas art piece by Gustav Klimt,
The Empress of Decadent Dreams Tarot

Probability:
The case is matured. Your patience and waiting will be rewarded.

Mother. Fertility. Abundance. Healing. Growth. The ability to love and to be loved.

Keywords:
The Queen of Life. The mother archetype.
According to Jung - Anima the archetype.
The cradle of life. Fertility. Prosperity.
Creativity. Productive activities. Education.
Healing. Love. Harmony. Union. Synthesis.
Sensitivity. Creativity.
The prolonged period of growth.
Material amenities. Status. Social status.
Beautiful house. Rich garden. Abundance.
Physical love and affection. Female sexuality. Marriage. Pregnancy. Birth.
Motherhood. Mother's instincts.
Good harvest.
The desire to help others.
Focusing on life processes.
Good result of hard work.
The transition from one stage of growth to another.
Realized potential. Fee. Good fate.

 Kazanlar Tarot

Situation and advice:
The Empress is a good luck card suggesting fertility, sexuality and reproduction.
Now is the time to show creative instincts and take decisive action. Any creative activity will produce good results.
You like your work because it gives your life beauty and sensuality, it may give you material comfort.
Your hard work will be financially rewarded.
Sexual relations are satisfying.
This card can mean marriage, pregnancy (especially in combination with 3H) or childbirth. If you are expecting a baby, pregnancy and childbirth will go well.
Reap the fruits of your labor, surround yourself with beauty and material comfort.
Share your feelings, you are able to give and receive love.

  Tarot by Anna Maria D'Onofrio

People: mother. Wife. A significant woman.
A woman with well-developed maternal instincts.
Someone who is always ready to help.
An influential woman. Pregnant woman. A royal woman. Woman - employer.
Royal origins.
Landowner.
Creative personality. One of the parents.
Someone with authority and a high position.
An important woman will appear in your life.
For men, this is the woman of his dreams.

Emily Balivet

Catherine the Great


Tarot Cards by Grace Kwon


Wilder Mann Tarot  --   Bonne Aventure Tarot
both by Marie Meier
Le Tarot de l'Ange Liberté - Myrrha

Millennial Gaia by Oberon Zell

Prisma Visions Tarot

Stained-Glass Windows Tarot by Luigi Scapini

The Fairytale Tarot 


3. THE EMPRESS The Empress is Earth Mother, Faery Queen, 
full moon, the first myth. Hers is the way of women, of nature. 
To know the Empress is to know the flow, harmony and cycles of nature.  
[The New Tarot Deck by Jack Hurley, Rae Hurley and John Horler, 
with illustrations by Horler, 1974.]


Experimenting :-)

 Divination is more about what happens inside your head than the tools. Anything can be used as an oracle, symbol, message, sign. So, I deci...