Divination - Blog Posts

The Signs as Types of Magic/Divination

The suffix “-mancy” comes from Ancient Greek «μαντεία»(“divination”), coming from either «μάγος»(“mage”, from Persian “al-Maguś” which refers to a Mede tribe known as Mages) or «μαίνειν», “to delirate”, with regards to the divine possession which took part within the oracles: this was called «ενθουσιασμός», (from the preposition εν meaning “inside” and θεός, “god”). In fact, as Cicero said in his work De divinatione, expressing it not as his thought but the opinion of mages, “Si di sunt, est divinatio; sunt autem di, est ergo divinatio.”(II, 41). Oh, and the suffix -kinesis comes from κίνησις meaning “movement”, and the word “cinematography” comes from that, too!

Aries: Runecasting, viking practice used, similarly to Tarots, for predicting a likely outcome by examining cause and effect of a situation. The word rune comes from Nordic raunen, meaning to whisper.

Taurus: Haruspicy, the inspection of the entrails, a practice that came to Rome from the Etruscan civilization; an example of instrument used is the Liver of Piacenza (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Piacenza_Bronzeleber.jpg), and the term comes from Archaic Latin haru, meaning entrails and the root “spec-“, to observe.

Gemini: Crystal ball reading, used by Druids who would partake in it with beryl balls. It was also used during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages (hey, one was even found in King Childeric 1st’s tomb!). Used to acquire symbolical visions of the present or future.

Cancer: Phyllorhodomancy, a method consisting in taking omens from rose leaves and rose petals. It was common in Ancient Greece to smack a rose’s petals against the hand and observe how loud the sound was, but in the 18th and 19th century it was also really common to pluck the rose on Midsummer’s Eve, wrap it in white paper and hide it until someone, who was then bound to marry the person, found it.

Leo: Solaromancy, an oriental type of divination consisting in the observation of the sun’s rays and its movement to understand possible important events in the future.

Virgo: Tarots, their ancestors were said to be wooden tablets found around 1st century AD in Palestine, and in ancient populations from the Near East these symbols were drawn on the walls of a temple’s room, where men who came to know their fate would spin around themselves until the dizziness made them fall in front of the chosen symbol. Widely spread and used for their rich details and quasi-infinite correspondences.

Libra: Cheiromancy, consisting in the reading of one’s lines of the palm in order to foretell. Bumps are also examined and the dominant hand is usually seen first, as the second one is thought to represent past life and the karmic consequences.

There are four types of hands corresponding to the four elements, and in Greek mythology for example every part of the hand is associated to a divinity (such as Apollo to the ring finger). The first witnesses of cheiromancy come from the Hindu sage Valmiki, whose teachings spread across the Mediterranean.

Scorpio: Necromancy, the art of calling the deceased from the otherworld to receive answers to one’s questions. In the Bible’s Book of Deuteronomy, for example, King Saul asks the Witch of Endor to summon Samuel’s spirit, who will foretell great and imminent destructions. The Caldaeans were also known for their practices and so the Mages, feared by the Arians. The Roman author Lucan also mentions the story of Erychtho, a famous Thessalian sorceress who foresaw the Battle of Pharsalus’ outcome. In the Middle Ages, it was also believed that necromancy would allow three things: will manipulation, illusions and knowledge.

Sagittarius: Theriomancy, method of observing an animal’s movements to predict the weather shifts, and also of predicting future events by studying mutated animals, such as a red calf or a bright yellow hen, both symbols of the gods.

Capricorn: I Ching divination, based on an 1000 BC divination text known as the Classic of Changes, in which three coins were thrown in the midst of a design of 64 hexagrams made with stems of bloodwort.

Aquarius: Rabdomancy, from Greek ράβδος (rhàbdos), rod, it consisted in watching where a stick (usually made of wood) would fall to take a decision or find a path. Used by Väinämöinen, the demigod and protagonist of the heroic poem Kalevala, it was also known in Ancient Greece.

Pisces: Oneiromamcy, form of divination through dreams that is also present in the Bible and in Middle Eastern works, it was also the main theme of Artemidorus’ Oneirocritica. Generally we can say about these predictions that each animal, type of natural element, plant or person (distinguished by blood ties or social occupation) had a different meaning.

Ash’s Original Witchery Posts MegaIndex!

Below are all my original posts on witchcraft & witchery sorted by subject. I’ll be adding to / editing this post each time I post something new - stay tuned!

BOOKS

Reading List: Secular & Wicca-Based Basic Books

Favorite Spellbooks

The Witches’ Workbook

CHARGING

Charging 101: The Quick Basics

CIRCLES

Three Simple Ways to Cast a Circle

Delineating the Boundary: Ways to Line your Circle

Circle Casting Clinic 101: What’s Wrong With My Circle?

Anatomy of a Circle-Casting: Circle Casting Structures

CHEAT SHEETS

Candle Magic Cheat Sheet

Spell Jars: A Guide & How-To

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Celtic Tree Calendar Cheat Sheet

CLEANSING

A Basic Home & Apartment Cleansing

CONSECRATION

Consecration Basics

The Lazy’s Witch’s Ring Consecration

Consecrating a Tarot Deck

DIVINATION & PSYCHIC MATTERS

Getting Started with Tarot

Dice Divination

Make an Emergency Tarot Kit

The Types of Psychic Power

Herbs for Psychic Ability

ENERGY WORK

How to Raise, Move, and Throw Energy

GREEN WITCHCRAFT

“My Throat Is Trying To Kill Me” Ginger Brew”

A Basic Wishing Spell, Green Witch Edition

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

HELLENIC PAGANISM & PAGANISM

Non-Conventional Ways to Worship Artemis

MEDITATION & VISUALIZATION

Starting Meditation

Exercises for Beginning Visualization

MOON MAGIC

A Witch’s Full Moon Traditions

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

The Movement of the Spheres: All About the Moon, its Movements, Phases, and Celebrations

PROTECTION

Simple Methods of Protection

Basic Shielding

RECIPES

“My Throat Is Trying To Kill Me” Ginger Brew

Lemon Cayenne Wakefulness Potion

A Green Witch’s Herb Bread

Things to Do With Rose Oil

…and Tea Tree Oil

Herbs for Psychic Abilities

RITUALS

Ritual of Announcement - for Witches Starting their Path

A Basic Home & Apartment Cleansing

A Witch’s Full Moon Traditions

The Tea Ceremony

SAFETY

Safety Tips for Witches

SPELLCRAFT

Attraction and Banishment in Spellcraft

Charging: The Quick Basics

Candle Magic Cheat Sheet

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

Circle Casting Clinic 101

Spell Jars: A Guide & How-To

Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Expanded Moon Phase Cheat Sheet

Celtic Tree Calendar Cheat Sheet

Magical Timing: The Sun & Moon in Witchcraft

Amelioration: Using Honey in Spells

Using Dirt and Ash Without Being Appropriative

What to Do With Dyed Glass & Fake Stones

SPELLS

Three Simple Ways to Cast a Circle

Enchanting a Necklace for Courage

Enchanting a Soap or Cleanser to Help Clear Skin

The Lazy Witch’s Ring Consecration

Getting It Done: A Virgo Moon

Simple Methods of Protection

A Basic Wishing Spell, Green Witch Edition

Wards for Resisting the Power

Rapid Fire Summoning

TOOLS

The Athame

Cauldron Tips & Tricks

Athames VS Wands

WANDLORE

How to Fix Up & Set Up a Stick as a Wand

WARDING

Wards for Resisitng the Power

Technomancy Warding for Blogs & Sites

WHEEL OF THE YEAR

Let’s Talk… Imbolc

Let’s Talk… Litha

Let’s Talk… Lammas

WITCHCRAFT 101 / WITCHLINGS

Witch Starter Kit: First Year Supply List

Witching on the Cheap: First-Year Supply List II (Redux)

The Difference Between a Book of Shadows, a Grimoire, and a Witches’ Almanac

The Difference Between Witches, Wiccans, Magic, and Magick

The Difference Between A Hex, a Curse, and a Spell

The Difference Between Magic and Magick with a K (one more time!)

Why Do You Seal Off a Spell Jar?

Making Witchcraft a Daily Practice

On Reading Off Spells

Tips for Newbies Starting Spellcraft

WITCHY TIPS

Recharging Tattooed Sigils

Witchery and Mental Illness

Five of My Favorite Witchy Tools

Holy Crap, Ghosts, Leave Me Alone

Circle Casting Clinic 101

The Science of Spellcraft

[Ask Ash || The Witches’ Workbook]

You guys help me keep TheoryofMagick running and bring major appreciative vibes to this happy Green Witch! :>

'Paradise'

one time i tried to communicate with lord Apollo and i asked "Am I speaking with Apollo?" and the dice said "Hard no" so i sighed and said "Am I speaking with lady Aphrodite...?" AND IT LANDED ON HARD YES. I LOVE YOU APHRODITE BUT LIKE.... LET ME SPEAK WITH APOLLO FOR A MIN.............

Free Tarot Readings

Hey! Feel free to message me for free tarot readings! It’ll probably be a three card spread, but if I have extra time then feel free to ask for a different/bigger spread! (My sibling @dr-julian-devorak-reads-tarot  also does them!)

Recently i came across a beautiful game that had me questioning a few things. When learning tarot i always stuck heavily with books' and instructions' help, a considerable amount instead of pure intuition (but of course there were some, or else it wouldn't be tarot). Other than that, i also kept constantly in mind that tarot was purely therapeutical and guidance rather than fortune telling, as many wiser Witches taught me.

This game however, showed me a completely different vision on how to read the cards, with very simple yet effective spreads and much more confident interpretations. I also have strong reasons to believe this is Hekate's idea.

TL;DR: I wanna try fortune telling instead of therapeutic tarot

Edit: i figure out some of my doubts and uncertainties, see reblogs!

Confidence, i think it's the keyword. When i started this blog, even if i wanted to stick with the guidance tips tarot i was taught, many people came to me asking things about their future and not much insights about themselves, and that made me so nervous because, obviously, i didn't want to make a wild, ambicious prediction and it be wrong, to disappoint the requester, nor did i want to bring the bad news. So to avoid it, i was the first one to bland it out and make it not a big deal. The grain of salt.

It is wise from a point of view, one's future is theirs to make their own, but constantly telling myself "I can't go too far" might have limited my own intuition power.

Of course a game is but a game, it is scripted and has the limitless of fiction, however i do firmly believe there are talented, gifted people out there that can predict the future through divination magic with precision unmatched (oh, the stories i heard), but it's something wlse entirely, much harder to believe i could be one of those.

Even if i am unfortunately not very constant with my tarot craft, because it doesn't pay my bills and all that, i do feel a strong connection with my decks and the things i learn through the little sessions and readings every now and then, therefore trying out a new thing could be doable

When im not in tune during a session, my cards kinda "refuse to work" until we fix the vibes, the question, etc, and when everything is aligned it flows with incredible accuracy and meaning. I never "predicted the future" per see, however many, dare i say most, of my readings sooner than later came to be true, the ones i had been close to watch it unroll, so it might be possible to channel that energy into something similar, bolder.

The more i think about it, the stronger is my feeling to dive into this possibility, because i know if that's something my decks are not okay with, they will give me the proper queues, leaving my on read, so back to insightful readings it is.

Just like i do with my hair, a little bit of experimentation will not hurt anybody

My idea is to go deeply into bold fortune telling, let my intuition go wild, align it with my current knowledge (and future, because that's never too much) and allow myself some creativity freedom, read the cards with my third eye and present the consultant with very different outcomes one might never have considered an option.

About Hekate's insight, this month i admit to have failed my duties more than other months, it got me a little sad, because it's partly due to work and rest routine that I'm terrible at organizing. But during one of my hunting sessions for games to relax, I came to find that game by paths i usually don't trail (navigation wise) and played the demo that instantly made me purchase the whole thing.

I have reasons to believe Hekate lead me to it, silently with a few odd clicks, just the way She initially lead me to tarot years back, with a simple instagram ad (an opportunity to take the first step, after many days of me pondering about it). The game, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, has a beautifully written script, nice game mechanics, pretty art and designs and wild interpretations of Witchcraft, a great piece of fictional entertainment watered with valuable pieces of basic information Witches should know about.

This totally wakened my senses, as i said, sadly not constant with tarot, i felt intrigued with the mechanics and possibilies, and after lots of research on the matter, my conclusion is yes, fortune telling could be possible for me, if im brave enough the flourish it.

Like the game protagonist, I'm a bit scared of what may come out of this, seen like i had a very turbulent past that made me insanely afraid of what the future holds (cough cough ptsd cough subject for another day), this can be a healthy way of helping deal with it.

I shall make a briefer post later, but my idea is to reopen tarot requests, making it explicit that this is a beta testing fortune telling kind of deal.

Although i feel strongly Hekate is the one once again showing me the way, i feel like gathering some additional sources to aid this possible journey, and read more into Apollo's devotes and their experience with clairvoyance is on my list, maybe i might be blessed with His dodgeball gift of prophecy red ball in the face, so if any of Apollo's fortune tellers, messengers or followers have any tips regarding prophetic matters I'd love to hear about it!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with news, thank you so much if you read until here, have a blessed week ✨