Divination 101

Divination – the practice of trying to predict the future or find hidden knowledge using supernatural, spiritual, or occult methods.

Many early societies used divination to communicate with deities, understand bad luck, or make big community decisions. Some faiths strictly forbid divination because they view it as relying on unauthorized spiritual forces. Science views divination as superstition, but many people still use it for personal reflection or decision making.

Some Popular Methods

Tarot Cards – a set of 78 illustrated cards traditionally used for games, self-reflection, and intuitive guidance.

Tarot originated in the 15th century as an Italian card game called “Tarocchi.” It wasn’t until 18th century French occultists introduced esoteric meanings to the cards that they were used for fortune telling and mystical insight. Now, tarot is commonly used as a psychological mirror or creative tool for decision making.

The deck consists of two distinct sections. The Major Arcana includes 22 cards that represent big life milestones, spiritual lessons, and overarching human archetypes. The Minor Arcana includes the remaining 56 cards that focus on the day-to-day events, choices, and emotional states of everyday life. The four suits of tarot generally include: Cups (representing emotions and relationships), Pentacles (representing work, money, and the physical world), Swords (representing thoughts, communication, and conflict), and Wands (representing creativity, passion, and action.)

Basic 3 Card Spread:

Card 1: Past – explores the background of your situation, and represents the events, mindsets, or foundation that brought you to where you are today.

Card 2: Present – highlights what is happening right now, and often shows the core energy of the moment, a current challenge, or something you need to pay attention to.

Card 3: Future – shows the likely outcome if you stay on your current path; this is not necessarily set in stone, but rather a reflection of where your current momentum is taking you.

Oracle Cards – a type of divination card tool used for introspection, daily inspiration, and spiritual guidance. These cards do not follow a strict traditional system like tarot. Rather, they are free-formed, so every deck is entirely unique and operates with its own set of rules.

Scrying – an ancient practice of gazing into a reflective, translucent, or dark surface to receive visions, hidden knowledge, or intuitive guidance.

Modern psychologists suggest that scrying works by self-hypnosis, sensory deprivation, or hypnagogic states where the brain interprets low-level visual fluctuations as meaningful imagery.

• Crystal Balls – spheres usually made of clear quartz, obsidian, or glass used to catch light and induce focus.
• Black Mirrors – usually polished obsidian or black-painted glass that creates deep, shadowy reflection pools.
• Water Bowls – dark vessels filled with water or ink
• Fire + Smoke – watching the movement of a flame or curling incense smoke for symbolic shapes, commonly referred to as Pyromancy

 

Basic Scrying:

• Choose your scrying medium.
• Prepare your space – dim the lights, position your medium, and get comfortable.
• Begin your scrying – center yourself, soften your gaze, remember to blink naturally, and observe any changes you see.
• Interpret your scrying – reflect on any mental impressions, note any shadows or shapes, and be mindful of any aesthetic movement of your medium. 

Remember, don’t analyze while you’re scrying. Just let images and thoughts pass by to be interpreted later. When done, write down everything you saw, felt, or thought for ease when interpreting.

Pendulums – a simple dowsing tool used primarily for divination, accessing subconscious wisdom, and balancing bodily energy. Structurally pendulums are simply a weighted object – such as a crystal, wood, metal charm, or even a wedding band – that is suspended from a string or chain.

• Yes/No Divination – holding the top of the chain steady, and asking closed-ended questions, and then reading the direction of the swing for answers.
• Spirits + Higher Self Communication – using the pendulum as a bridge to talk to spirit guides, ancestors, or your own higher intuition.
• Energy + Chakras – holding a pendulum over a person’s chakras and interpreting the movement to locate imbalances or energy blocks.
• Dowsing – using pendulums over maps or layout grids to locate lost objects or loved ones.

 

Tuning a Pendulum – each practitioner and pendulum moves differently, requiring some tuning before use.

• Hold the chain completely still between your thumb and index finger.
• Ask aloud “show me a ‘yes’ answer” and watch the pendulum movement to determine what movement is a ‘yes.’
• Repeat the process for “show me a ‘no’ answer.”

Cleromancy – casting objects onto a surface, or generating random data and then interpreting the patterns, positions, and outcomes

• Runecasting – throwing stones or wood pieces etched with runes to interpret their meaning.
• I Ching – an ancient Chinese system of tossing coins or yarrow sticks and matching results to philosophical hexagrams.
• Bone Throwing (Osteomancy) – a practice used across various cultures utilizing animal bones, shells, or sticks and interpreting their positions.
• Magpie Divination – using charms to cast and interpret them based on how and where they land.

Cleromancy even includes rolling dice, or childhood games like MASH and paper fortune tellers.

Other Types of Divination

Astrology – interpreting the movements, alignments, and positions of celestial bodies to predict events and map human destiny.

Ceromancy – reading the shapes in melted wax to interpret a message.

Dowsing Rods – using a pair of L-shaped rods, or a Y-shaped tree branch, and interpreting the movement of the rods.

Palmistry – studying the lines, mounts, and shape of a person’s hand to gain insight into their personality or future.

Talking Boards – using a planchette on a lettered board (Ouija) to allow supernatural forces or collective mindsets to spell out a message.

Tasseography – the practice of drinking a cup of loose leaf tea or coffee and reading the symbolic shapes left by the remaining sediment.

Lesser Known Divinations

Alectormancy – drawing out letters on the ground and placing grain at each letter, then letting a chicken spell out a message based on the order it eats the grain.

Augury – observing the flight patterns, spacing, and songs of birds to determine divine messages.

Bibliomancy – holding a question in your mind and randomly flipping open a book to read the first passage your eyes land on to find your answer.

Capnomancy – dropping oil or ink into a bowl of water and interpreting how the colors separate, swirl, or clump together.

Critomancy – examining patterns, shapes, and positions of barley cakes or grain paste after baking.

Floromancy – using flowers, tracking which bloom first, how long they live, and even the childhood “he loves me, he loves me not” plucking of petals.

Libanomancy – analyzing specific paths, shapes, thickness, and speed of rising smoke.

Myomancy – tracking the sudden movements, paths, or population changes of mice or rats to predict upcoming events.

Onychomancy – painting one’s fingernails in oil and then holding them to the light to read the patterns or reflections in their shiny surface.

Pegomancy – studying natural springs and fountains to interpret their rhythm, bubbling, or sounds.

Phyllomancy – interpreting the rustling sound of leaves in the wind.

Physiognomy – reading facial features, bone structures, and expressions to determine a person’s character and destiny.

Reflection:

• How do I react to “bad or challenging results? When I am shown an obstacle or given a “no” response, do I feel anxious and powerless? Or do I view it as an empowering heads-up to change my strategy?

• What does a “successful” reading look like to me? Is a reading successful only if it accurately predicts a future event, or is it successful if it gives me a fresh, healing perspective on a current problem?

• How do I handle readings involving other people? When doing a relationship reading, am I respecting that person’s privacy and autonomy, or am I trying to control the narrative?

Shadow Work

Shadow Work – a psychological and self-exploration practice that involves discovering, accepting, and integrating the hidden or repressed parts of your subconscious mind.

The concept of Shadow Work comes from the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who defined the “shadow” as the unknown or unacknowledged side of human personality. The “shadow” is parts of the personality that you have pushed away because they feel unacceptable, shameful, or uncomfortable. Usually the “shadow” holds difficult emotions like anger, jealousy, or fear, but can also hold positive traits like ambition, creativity, and assertiveness that you were taught to suppress. This “shadow” develops during childhood, when we learn what behaviors bring approval, and which bring rejection. We learn early on to hide the rejected parts, to feel safe and loved. These rejected parts are pushed into our unconscious mind.

These rejected parts don’t disappear though; they stay pretty hidden. However, they quietly control moods, triggers, and even relationship patterns. They show up as intense sudden reactions or strong judgment that is often a reflection of the hidden “shadow” – known as projection. Facing these hidden “shadows” helps you stop fighting with yourself, and leads to better emotional control, lower stress, and a more authentic life.

Some suggested ways to do shadow work are:

• Journaling strong emotional triggers and reflecting on why they upset you
• Therapy sessions to safely unpack deep and painful memories
• Self-reflection to notice reoccurring relationship conflicts without self-judgement

Witchcraft + Shadow Work

In witchcraft, Shadow Work is treated as a powerful form of inner alchemy. Instead of viewing it through a clinical lens, practitioners view the hidden “shadows” of the subconscious as a source of raw, untapped power and deep wisdom. The goal for practitioners doing Shadow Work is to reclaim power that was lost, stolen, or hidden due to societal conditioning, family trauma, or fear.

Some common “shadow” topics practitioners usually work on include:

• The Witch Wound – exploring the deep-seated fear of being seen, speaking your truth, or practicing your craft. This steps from the historical (and present) persecution of witches and often manifests as fear of judgment or a need to keep your spirituality hidden.

• The Good Person Conditioning – examining where you suppress anger, boundaries, or desires just to make other people comfortable. Practitioners look into how this conditioning suffocates personal sovereignty and magical authority.

• Fearing Your Own Power – addressing the anxiety that your magic and intense emotions or manifestation abilities are “too dangerous” or “too much” for the world to handle.

• Dark Feminine/Masculine – integrating the primal, untamed parts of yourself, including exploring your relationship with your sexuality, your raw rage, your ambition, and your capacity to say “no” without guilt.

• Jealousy and Envy – instead of feeling guilty for being jealous of another practitioner, look at envy as a subconscious map that shows exactly what your soul desires, but have restricted yourself from pursuing.

• Spiritual Materialism + Ego – examining why you practice magic. Is it to genuinely connect with the universe, or is it using “witchy aesthetics” and spiritual superiority to mask deep insecurities or the need for control?

• Generational Trauma – unpacking emotional patterns, addictions, or toxic beliefs that have been passed down through your bloodline or culture. Resolving these is considered doing “healer work” for both your ancestors and future generations. This is where generational curses are broken.

• Relationship With the Dark Unknown – examining your fear of literal darkness, death, endings, or periods of emptiness (the void), and learning to see darkness not as “evil” but as fertile soil where new magic can grow.

• Religious Guilt – removing subconscious guilt about your practice and trusting your intuition, from the dogmatic and restrictive religious environments you may have come from (spiritual deconstruction).

• Control vs Flow – looking closely at your spellwork to reflect if you are performing magic out of a desperate need to control external situations or people, because of feelings of powerlessness.

• Savior Complex – exploring the urge to constantly use magic, energy, and empathy to fix, heal, or save everyone around you – often at the expense of your own physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Crafting Shadow Work

Practitioners often use rituals, divination, and the cycles of nature to help in their Shadow Work and bring hidden “shadows” to light.

Divination allows a bypass around the logical mind and speak directly to the subconscious.

• Tarot “Mirror” Spread – pull cards while specifically asking “what am I hiding from myself,” “what am I projecting onto others,” and “what power have I suppressed?”

• Scrying – gazing into a black mirror, bowl of dark water, or crystal sphere to quiet the mind and allow buried emotions or symbols to surface.

Aligning Shadow Work with the natural cycles of darkness and introspection, such as the seasonal shifts and lunar cycles is a common practice in witchcraft.

• Waning + New Moon – the fading moon is the traditional time for banishing, releasing, and looking inward, while using the new moon to sit with your darkness and set intentions for inner healing.

• Samhain + Dark Half – the autumn and winter months are naturally suited for deep introspection, honoring the underworld, and doing heavy emotional lifting,

Through rituals of release and integration, magic uses physical actions to represent internal psychological shifts.

• Burn Rituals – write down a repressed belief, fear, or childhood wound that you are ready to acknowledge, and then burn the paper while feeling that part of you being transformed by fire into pure, usable energy.

• Cord Cutting – perform a symbolic ritual to cut ties with an old version of yourself, a harmful coping mechanism, or a shadow trait that no longer serves you.

Having the aid of specific entities, archetypes, or deities as guides can help you navigate Shadow Work.

• “Shadow” Deities – working with deities that are associated with the underworld, magic, and transformation to act as protectors and guides through your personal underworld.

• Ancestral Work – sometimes our shadow traits are inherited familial traumas, and connecting with ancestors can heal generational cycles.

Using the physical properties of herbs and crystals can help ground and protect you during heavy emotional Shadow Work.

• Mugwort + Blue Lotus – usually used in teas or ritual baths to enhance dreaming and access the subconscious mind.

• Obsidian + Black Tourmaline – keeping protective grounding stones nearby to absorb intense emotional energy while diving into painful memories.

A WORD OF CAUTION –

Shadow Work can stir up heavy trauma. Grounding and centering yourself after a ritual is crucial to avoid feeling emotionally overwhelmed. And as always, seek professional help if thoughts become too much.

• Suicide Crisis Line: 988
• The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386
• LGBTQ+ National Hotline: 1-888-843-4564
• LGBTQ+ Youth (25 or younger): 1-800-246-7743
• LGBTQ+ Adults and Caregivers: 1-877-360-5428
• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
• International Hotline List: https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/

Reflection

If you have been doing our QOTDs, congratulations you have already started some Shadow Work reflection!

In what ways do I feel like a “fraud” in my practice? Who’s approval am I subconsciously waiting for before I consider myself a “real” witch?

Where am I over-extending my energy, performing unpaid emotional labor, or playing the savior in my spiritual or mundane communities, at the expense of my own wellbeing?

What rules from my childhood, past religion, or societal conditioning am I still letting dictate my magical ethics? Do I secretly fear divine punishment when I step into my power?

Am I focusing more on the external look, tools, and lifestyle of a witch than the actual, messy, internal work of transformation? What am I hoping the outer aesthetic will hide?

Ancestral Work

Ancestral work is the practice of connecting with the spirits of those who have come before you, for wisdom, guidance, protection, and strength. 

There are many ways ancestors can aid in our practices. They can act as spiritual guardians, mentors, and foundational power sources. They can offer a macro-perspective, and guide your path in the physical realm, provide guidance, and even mentorship.

Some practices view magic as a collaborative effort backed by a court of ancestors. As ancestors have invested in the success and survival of the bloodline, they can intercept negative energy, curses, and ill intentions. They can also boost intuition, vivid dreams, and give physical signs to pay attention. 

Ancestors can act as "translators" of the spiritual realm, passing information to your subconscious, protect you from untrusted entities, and help interpret divination details. Lending their energy to spellwork can boost it, and enhance manifestation. 

Ancestral work can heal generational trauma and send healing backwards through the generations, possibly even unlocking ancestral blessings, strengths, and talents. 

Types of Ancestors

• Blood Ancestors - biological relatives, including unknown family lines
• Chosen Ancestors - close friends, mentors, adopted family
• Spiritual Ancestors - historical figures, artists, or past spiritual practitioners who inspire your path

Remember, you do not have to consent to working with anyone you don't want to. You do not have to honor, invite, or work with abusive, toxic or harmful ancestors.

Hearing the Call

Ancestors usually communicate through repetition, emotional resonance, and everyday synchronicities. They use your immediate environment, your subconscious mind, and your sensory perception to get your attention. 

The dream realm is the easiest place for spirits to contact you because your conscious mind and skepticism are asleep. Repeatedly dreaming of a specific deceased relative, even if you weren't thinking about them before sleeping, could be the loved one trying to make a connection with you. Dreaming of an unfamiliar person who treats you with intense familiarity, love, or protection could be an unknown ancestor trying to reach out. Being handed an object like a key, book, ring, or even a piece of fruit from someone in your dream is a classic sign of an ancestor trying to pass down wisdom or an inheritance of power. 

Spirits also frequently manipulate the air and sensory memories to make their presence know. Suddenly smelling something distinctly associated with a deceased loved one where there is no physical source nearby (examples: specific type of tobacco or cologne, a cooking spice, favorite flower), could be an ancestor making their presence known. Also hearing your name being called out clearly by a voice you recognize, usually right as you are falling asleep or waking up, can be an ancestor trying to get your attention.

Spirits sometimes use small animals or physical objects to leave a metaphorical "paper trail" for you to follow. Specific birds, insects, or other animals suddenly behaving oddly around you, like lingering longer than normal, or staring directly at you, could be messengers from ancestors. Repeatedly finding specific tokens, like coins, feathers, or unique stones, on your path could be gifts from ancestors. Clocks stopping at the exact time a loved one dies, or a specific song that reminds you of them suddenly playing when you are thinking of your family, could be calls from ancestors saying "pay attention!"

If practices like meditation are already things you do, pay attention to how your body may shift during these moments. A sudden localized drop in temperature or a wave of goosebumps running down your body when you mention or think of a deceased loved one, may be them reaching out to you. Feeling a comforting weight on your shoulder, or sudden overwhelming waves of emotion could be an ancestor touching you. If a candle flame on your altar suddenly leaps, dances, and acts wildly when you approach or reflect on your family, this could be an ancestor saying "I'm here!"

Sometimes though, the sign isn't an external presence acting on us. Sometimes its an unshakeable internal compulsion, usually to look into your family history. Deep desire to look through old photo albums, ask older relatives about their childhood, desire to build a family tree or trace lineage could be a "pull" triggered by an ancestor to look for them. 

Establishing Simple Connections

• Set up a simple ancestral altar
• Cleanse the area, usually with smoke or sound
• Light a white or neutral candle to show that the space is open for communication 
• Speak aloud to introduce yourself and state your clear intention to connect only with healed and benevolent ancestors, or a specific ancestor
• Give yourself time to feel their presence, visualize a light of connection between you and them, or allow space to receive their message or response
• Thank them for their presence, leave an offering to show your gratitude, and extinguish the candle. Remember to clean and remove offerings before they spoil.

The Silent Supper

Sometimes referred to as a "dumb supper," this is a silent meal held to honor and remember deceased loved ones or ancestors. 

Set Up - set your dining table normally, but add an extra place setting at the head of the table, reserved for spirits. The spirit chair is often draped in black cloth.

Food - serve seasonal foods or recipes passed down through the family. When serving, the spirit plate receives a small portion of every dish first. 

Silence - from the moment you sit to eat until the meal is finished, stay absolutely silent. Eat mindfully and meditate on loved ones, listening for subtle shifts in the room's energy.

Closure - once the meal concludes, the silence is broken and participants traditionally share stories about the ancestors they were remembering. The food from the spirit plate is usually taken to be left at a crossroads or under a tree to return it to the earth. 

Simple Ancestral Tarot Spread

A three card ancestral tarot spread can assist in communicating with ancestors and receive their messages.

Card 1 - What ancestral trauma or pattern am I currently breaking?

Card 2 - What wisdom or strength do my ancestors want to bless me with right now?

Card 3 - What is my ancestor's message or guidance for me as I enter the dark half of the year?

There are plenty of other tarot spreads to use, but this is a simple one to get started with.

Ancestor Work Reflection:

When discussing ancestral work with my lovely coven, one member shared their experience with hearing the call from ancestors. They gave me permission to share:

"I was raised in a protestant cult. The kind of cult that was terrified of demons, of ancestor worship, of ghosts, of secular music and movie theaters and jazz chords. Everything was evil. The world was swarming with perdition and hell paths. And why did my Caribbean family choose this cult? Well… because they were running away from things the church said were “ultimate evils."

On my father’s side, there was Rebecca. I’m named after this woman, and yet I never got a chance to meet her. She died before I was conceived. She was my paternal great-great grandmother, and by all accounts she was a very powerful witch. Except, we don’t talk about Rebecca. All we know, all that has been discussed, is her choice to be a witch and how naughty that decision was. I don’t know anyone in my family that has anything of hers aside from a picture, and no one wants to discuss with me what her practices were because everyone on that side is still deeply in the cult and feel that Rebecca was worth running from. 

On my mother’s side, there was Isabel. She’s my maternal great-great grandmother, and that one is finally being excavated by our family. Not everyone on my maternal side is in the cult, a lot of them are even more curious about her now that I’ve started asking questions. However, her namesake, my grandma who has late stage dementia, is still traumatized by her childhood experiences with this woman and her spiritual practice. More running. More fear. 

Until two weeks ago, even I was trepidatious about fooling around with whatever it was she was into.  I also never met Isabel’s son, my great-grandfather Angel. They both died before I was born, and while Angel was spoken of as a great father, husband, provider, and general gentleman, Isabel was spoken of as a powerful medium who did strange things. She was loved in her spiritual community, healed many people, was a real Curandera that received acknowledgment and mourning at her passing. In her own family, however, she was a bad omen. She played with spirits, ghosts, tinctures, blood, and many other things that the cult says is a huge no-no. To the immediate family, being associate with her was shameful. 

Two weeks ago, I was putting myself through the ringer. My introduction to polyamory was messy. I participated unethically and its been hard to forgive myself despite my life being 180 wonderful and blessed now after years of shadow work, therapy, and reconciliation. I saved my marriage. I saved my other marriage. I lost one though, and their impact still had me asking every few weeks “am I crazy?”

So I’m on my umpteenth round of that when I suddenly feel this… tug. That’s it. A tug. 

See, I’d already written about Isabel. I’d sent a submission to an indigenous YouTube channel that features viewer stories about spooky things, and I’d felt her presence enter the chat then. That was months ago. But, no talking, no dreams. Nothing but a feeling that she was there, watching me. 

Anyway, so two weeks ago I’m lamenting to my therapist about my sanity and I felt this tug. This “remember who you are Simba” type shit. 

I said to my therapist, “You know, my great grandfather already broke the generational curse of staying in toxic, abusive relationships. Angel left his first wife and remarried, bought a farm, had more children, and died loved. His ex wife died and was left in a cemetery with a simple slab of stone with numbers spray painted on top to find her. She died racist, abusive, angry, and alone while her ex husband died abundant, loved, cared for, and peaceful. SO WHY THE FUCK AM I WONDERING IF LEAVING THIS PERSON WAS THE RIGHT THING???”

It hit me in the chest like a ton of bricks. The curse was already broken. He broke it. His mother broke it. So what if my other relatives choose to live as though that wasn’t the case? Am I seriously gonna spit in the face of all that power because a cult guilt tripped my living relatives into subservient fear?

Ugh, that shit was wild. That shit had me swirling. My IBS was threatening me that day. I shared this with my wife and they made a loaf of bread. As the aroma of the bread wafted through the living room, I heard clear as fuck “Dinner is at 8 then, mija.”

I went on a walk. Put my feet to earth and breathed deep. I found a horned owl feather and placed it on a plate with some powdered flower petals. Then my meta comes in later and says “I found a pigeon feather and I thought of you.”

I thought of Angel and Isabel. Dinner was for two. I was meeting them officially for the first time and I was gifted offerings. You see, owls are not bad omens for the Taino people, its just the symbol of our cemi of the underworld. 

It was time to meet them. One white candle for peace and reverence, one black candle for protection and grounding. And then Isabel said “You’re gonna give me bread with no cafecito, mija??” Like whoops, I haven’t had coffee in years because it flares my IBS like crazy but I fuckin' found some coffee and made her a cup! We had a candle lit dinner. I won’t tell you the details, that’s no ones business but ours, but what I will say is I walked away with a sense of absolution. 

I felt more like myself than I ever had before. Angel was gentle, sweet, and a bit busy. Isabel was keen and intense, but kind. And I… wasn’t afraid anymore."

-as told by Acolyte HBA