When I moved to Boulder in 1979 as a financially strapped 20-year-old college student, one of my first extravagant purchases was a blue-rimmed crystal on a silver chain purchased at an Artisan's Fair. Crystals were "hot," and I believed wearing them would enhance my life by bringing good fortune through greater clarity of thought. Or, at that age, something equally profound.

And who's to say they didn't? My life has been a rich tapestry, despite adversity at regular intervals. Ann Fiery writes in The Book of Divination (Chronicle Books, 1999), "Divination allows us to achieve the great goal of humankind; a practice life. Each...divinatory system offers not a sewn-up, completed future but a possible outcome of a certain course of action. This is precisely the information we seek as we careen down the freeway of existence: If I make this turn, will my life be better or worse? Divination provides us with a map of the road not taken. We are often forced by circumstance to take our lives seriously. What could possibly be more useful than a glimpse into the corridors of the future while one actually remains comfortably slouched on the threshold?"

In our annual Nexus guide to the intuitive arts, we've included both well-known and more exotic methods. The future is a mystery, but consoling our natural curiosity through the intuitive arts will perhaps better prepare us to embrace our unique mythical journey.

ANCIENT AND ESOTERIC ANGELS ASTROLOGY AURA READING CARDS CHANNELING DOWSING/RADIESTHESIA DREAMING GALGAL GEOMANCY GRAPHOLOGY I CHING

IFA MAH JONGG MEDICINE WHEEL NUMEROLOGY OBJECT READING OUIJA BOARD PALMISTRY PRAYER RUNES SCRYING SHAMANISM TAROT

 

ANCIENT AND ESOTERIC

      Since the beginning of time, hundreds of divination methods have been used to determine the future. Xylomancy, for instance, is divination with wood. While walking through a forest, a question is asked and the ground is closely watched for pieces of wood. Interpretations were made based on the shape of the wood, its type and so on. Bibliomancy and rhapsodomancy involve opening the Bible or a book of poetry, respectively, to search for clues in the passage that immediately revealed itself. And then there's margaritomancy, or divination with pearls. These esoteric and mysterious divination techniques are but a few recorded through time and from around the world.

 

ANGELS

      From an invisible realm, our guardian angels are supporting us while our archangel is said to be carrying messages from God. Since early times, people have believed that angels possess enormous spiritual powers. The word "angel" is derived from the Greek word "angelos" and means "messenger." People from diverse cultures have described angels in similar ways and express trust that they are eager to help those who request guidance.

 

ASTROLOGY

      Typically squeezed between the comics and the crossword puzzle, astrology is nonetheless one of the most complicated of all the methods of divination. While not an integral part of Western culture, it was central to most highly developed civilizations-Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Indian, Chinese, Muslim and Mayan, dating from 2000 BC. Traveling astrologers from Mesopotamia promoted the "cult of the stars," or astral gods, and the idea of astrology as fate in the religious sense. A believer trusts that the position of the sun, moon and planets have an influence on the course of human affairs. The surviving branches of astrology include Eastern (Vedic or Hindu) and Western, based on the 12 tropical zodiac signs.

 

AURA READING

      We've all experienced a "black mood" or found ourselves "green with envy." Some holistic healers say they can see the distinctive human rainbow called aura-bands of colored light emanating from and surrounding humans as well as animals and plants. The changing color patterns are said to indicate emotional states, blocks and general character, revealing the mental and spiritual condition of its possessor. By reading the aura, it is said that a healer can diagnose a potential illness before it produces physical symptoms and make a recommendation accordingly.

 

CARDS

      Card games, long associated with divinatory practices, entered Europe from the Arabic East in the 13th and 14th centuries. Many are original, while others are based on ancient philosophy or esoteric art. While there are now dozens of tarot decks, prior to the 1970s there were really only two-the Tarot de Marseilles and the Rider-Waite deck. Recent best-selling decks at Boulder's Lighthouse Bookstore include Susan Boulet's Animal Spirit Cards and Louise L. Hay's deck called Wisdom Cards.  If you're the practical type, The Office Oracle provides advice to master challenges at work. While not quite as new, the popular Medicine Cards are based on Native American traditions; and the Russian Gypsy Fortune Telling Cards are based on gypsy teachings of nineteenth-century Russia.

 

CHANNELING

      Channeling brings information or influence from one invisible plane to another, often the opinions or wisdom of higher, beneficent spirits or even a message from the unconscious. People often channel to communicate with deceased individuals or spiritual beings, or to gain guidance in the affairs of the living or for accounts of the spirit-world.

 

DOWSING/RADIESTHESIA

      Dowsing involves the use of a divining rod or wooden sticks of different shapes to find lost objects. Different-shaped rods are used for different purposes such as locating water, oil or sacred sites, or answering personal questions. Practiced since medieval times, the modern form of dowsing is known as water witching.

 

DREAMING

      The meaning of a dream's symbolic images is one of the common mysteries of humankind. Tribal or traditional societies used dreams for internal guidance and based interpretations on familiar cultural symbols. Flying is a classic symbol in dreaming, while recurring dreams usually suggest that something troubling you in day-to-day life needs resolution. Modern dream interpretation was given credibility by Sigmund Freud and his pupil Carl Jung. Both believed patient psychoanalysis was aided by dream interpretation.

 

GALGAL

Galgal is based on Kabbalah, a philosophy and a way of life that is founded on the sacred language or mystical Jewish teachings of the Hebrew alphabet. First published in 1972, galgal is a set of 56 cards with an accompanying text with tarot-astrological components. Its history, however, dates back to medieval Europe. Divination was practiced by organizing the Hebrew letters through a complex symbol called the tree of life.

 

GEOMANCY

      Geo-location is used to find the best sites for construction and is similar to the Chinese system of feng shui or "wind-water." Fundamental to the Eastern way of living, feng shui is a means of bringing order to chaos through the art of placement; the belief that happiness and contentment can only be achieved by living in harmony with the natural elements and forces of the earth. Oracular geomancy is an ancient system based on lines and figures.

 

GRAPHOLOGY

      Graphologists study handwriting to analyze character, a technique often used in police work. Large handwriting could suggest an outgoing person or conversely a selfish person; small handwriting may signify patience or a lack of self-confidence. European grapho-therapists believe that handwriting is influenced by the brain, and vice versa, so the act of monitoring and making adjustments to the handwriting style can be used for positive, therapeutic purposes.

 

I CHING

      The I Ching is a collection of 64 divinatory figures that act like a mirror for the unconscious forces that move and change things. Also known as the Book of Changes, it was one of the few books allowed to survive when the greater part of ancient literature in China was destroyed on the orders of the Emperor, Hwang-Ti in 213 BC.

      The I Ching has historically been used as a tool of divination in conjunction with the tossing of yarrow stalks, sticks or coins, according to a complicated numerological system. The corresponding Book of Changes text is then consulted for an interpretation. The I Ching is used not only to give warning and advice, but can also change a person's outlook on life.

 

IFA

      Ifa, a form of oracular geomancy, was carried into North Africa by the Islamic wars of conquest and is practiced by the Yoruba peoples of southwestern Nigeria. It was introduced to the United States through slave trading.

      Seated on the ground, the Babalawo, the Yoruba diviner, arranges divinatory artifacts around him. The questioner silently focuses on his or her problem, after which palm nuts are cast. Ifa interpretation is housed in the collective memory of the Babalawo. Once a recitation is recognized as corresponding to the problem, the diviner uses tokens to question ifa for a solution.

 

MAH JONGG

      A "throw of the dice" is believed to reveal one's destiny when mah jongg is consulted. Of Chinese origin and older than tarot, the original purpose of the mah jongg reading was to obtain an answer from the gods. This divination method is now seen primarily in gambling casinos. Each of the 144 tiles has a value and the random "fall" reveals the interaction between the order of the universe and how an individual can influence that order.

 

MEDICINE WHEEL

      North American Indian tribes each have their own unique medicine wheel. The wheel is laid out like the face of a clock and offers a specific number of directions to achieve personal growth, understand truth more fully, find inner peace or become a peacemaker in the world.

 

NUMEROLOGY

      Many ancient peoples believed that numbers were fate, including Greek philosopher Pythagoras, to whom numerology is attributed. Through this divination technique, challenges and blessings in life are understood by knowing the symbolic meanings that surround the nine whole numbers. Generally the numbers are based on a person's name or birth date. These numbers are said to determine fate, personality traits and behavior patterns.

 

OBJECT READING

      This divination technique is also known as psychometry, a form of ESP in which a person receives impressions about events, usually past events, through objects associated with that event. Psychometry originally meant measuring the soul, and is based on the belief that events or traces of events persist in physical objects. The objects are examined, typically by a medium or sensitive, with the aim of contacting the psychic aura of things or people who have been in contact with them.

 

OUIJA BOARD

      Divination by means of letters, grammatomancy, allows messages to be spelled out by means of an alphabet and a planchette or divining stick. The ouija board is the most popular form of this technique. This automatic writing device is typically used by a medium to spell out messages from the spirit world. Some believe the messages come from the subconscious minds of the performers, while others argue that certain messages seem to originate from an unknown kind of contact.

 

PALMISTRY

      Palm readers see the hand as a canvas on which a life is painted. The entire hand is often examined including fingerprint patterns, gestures and even photographic records left by electrical discharges from the hands. Potential, problems and the direction of a person's life are predicted by examining the life line, heart line, head line, fate line and other indicators. A popular divinatory method in the West, palmistry is mentioned in Vedic writings of ancient India some 3,000 years ago, as well as in old or older Chinese texts.

 

PRAYER

      Prayer may seem a bit too Western to be included here, but centering ourselves to seek insight is one of the simplest divination techniques. Some Native American tribes use a special prayer stick while singing prayers to their gods. The Buddhist monks in Tibet use a prayer wheel, while Islamic people have certain hand and body positions for various prayers. Communion with God or a deity of our choice may take different paths, such as a confessional prayer or a prayer of thanksgiving.

     

RUNES

      The magical alphabet of the Germanic peoples, the word rune means whisper or secret. The 24 rune-staves or stones were sought to guide the consciousness of the seer, to understand what the gods wanted, and to see and change the shape of coming events. Rune sets have recently seen a resurgence in popularity.

 

SCRYING

      Scrying is a term from the archaic English word 'descry,' meaning to see. Reading tea leaves and crystal ball gazing are both forms of scrying but ancient peoples also used dark bowls filled with water or wine, a lighted candle or other fire. This art of interpreting visions has been practiced in various forms all over the world from remote antiquity.

 

SHAMANISM

      The shaman is the world's oldest religious figure, serving the tribe through communication with the spiritual world as both a healer and intermediary. Central to many Native American tribes, it is also thoroughly documented in Siberia. Shamans enter a trance-like state in order to talk to spirits on behalf of a person or a group of people for purposes of divine healing, protection or greater wisdom.  Shamanism has been popularized by modern practitioners in the last two decades, but it actually extends back to the Paleolithic era.

 

TAROT

      Now used mostly to divine the future, this classic divination system of western European culture has been in use since the early 1500s. The symbolic pictures on the original tarot deck are linked to Greek and Roman mythology although some scholars suggest tarot originated in China or India. Tarot consists of 78 cards, divided into two decks. Because each card has divinatory significance, the tarot pack is usually consulted to resolve a question about the future or the past. Like astrology, interpretation depends on the skill and sophistication of the practitioner.

 

      Sources consulted for this article: The Element Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mind, Body, Spirit and Earth, Joanna Crosse; The Encyclopedia of The Occult, Charles Walker; The World Atlas of Divination, consulting editor John Matthes; The New Dictionary of Spiritual Thought, Carol E. Parrish-Harra, Ph.D.; Encyclopedia of the Unexplained, published by the Penguin Group; The Art of Divination, Scott Cunningham, and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Divination, Stephen Karcher.